MEM24602 - The Black Venus Inn (Building)

The pub was photographed in c.1935, when it was named the Ring O Bells. It was formed by joining two 17th Century cottages together. The Black Venus was mentioned as early as 1812 but this may have referred to a nearby cottage and meadow. It was later known as the New Inn and was renamed the Ring O Bells when the church bells were rehung in 1845. It was part of the Fortescue's Challacombe Estate and doubled as a small farm. Field Marshal Montgomery and Harold Macmillan stopped here for cream teas. Ring O Bells is the most common pub name in Devon and the landlord renamed it the Black Venus in 1967 to avoid confusion; it may have been named after a sheep that nobody could shear, or a carving in dark local stone. [1] The Tithe Map for Challacombe shows a series of small structures fronting the road junction at c.SS 6940 4102. They are labelled 867, 868 and 870, within land parcel 869. The Tithe Apportionment describes them as below: 867: No plot name, no cultivation state, within Bearleys Estate, owned and occupied by Ambrose Walker 868, 869, 870: No plot name, cultivation state or estate name provided; owned and occupied by James Webber. [2] By the time the 1st Edition Ordnance Survey map was surveyed, a large building occupied the site. It is labelled "Ring of Bells (PH)". [3] The building is shown on the 2018 MasterMap data in a similar plan form to the 1st Edition mapping but with subtle changes. It is now labelled "Black Venus Inn (PH)". [4]