1345
Johanna de Corby - Ale Wife. brewed on the site of the adjacent Swan Hotel. This is the earliest recorded reference to a brewery on this site.
Early 1600s
Goodman Wiggins owns an inn with integral brewhouse on this site before Southwold's great fire of 1659.
Late 1600s
John Rous rebuilds the Inn after the fire. He also owns the brewhouse which by now has been moved further back from the inn to roughly its modern location.
1700s
John Thompson and his descendants own the Inn with its brewhouse for the best part of a century (until 1806), Their residence is across the street in what is now Buckenham House. The Thompsons are one of Southwold's leading merchant families and John is a Town Bailiff.
1760s
Robert Jacques - Inn Keeper. (M)
1778
Robert Jacques - inn keeper, commits suicide this year. (M).
1782
Joseph Berry - Inn Keeper (M)
1800
Henry Meadows becomes landlord in August this year.
1806
Henry Meadows, the incumbent landlord, and Robert May, the co-owner of the Southwold Saltworks, acquire the Old Swan and the brewery from the Thompson family.
1815
Robert May becomes bankrupt.
1818
Thomas Bokenham buys the Old Swan and brewery from Henry Meadows largely financed by two sisters residing in Norwich. Thomas runs the hotel himself as inn keeper.
1825
Thomas Bokenham - Inn Keeper, 'The Old Swan' and brewery owner.Thomas sells the adjacent brewery to William Crisp in 1825. (M)
c1846
Thomas Bokenham has died and the management of the hotel is taken over by his widow, Elizabeth Bokenham
1855
The Inn is put to auction, because of the ill health of Elizabeth Bokenham, but fails to sell (M)
1864
Mrs Jane Catton - Victualler. Family
and Commercial Posting House (W, M)
1870
Jane Catton purchases the Old Swan for £1550. (M) Presumably, until then she had been a tenant.
1896
E Smith - Manageress (K1906). Adnams
become the proprietors.
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