Inns of Barrow upon Soar - The Bishop Blaise

 

The Bishop Blaise

South Street

Opposite to The Cottage this photo dates from 1902.
The pub closed in 1950 and is now a private residence of the same name. It was for many years the headquarters of the local football and cricket teams. It ceased trading in the early 1950s the licence being transferred to the Lodge Hotel (now the Hunting Lodge.)

Bishop Blaise (or Blaize) lived in Armenia. He was martyred by some sort of hook which left comb marks on his back like those made by a wool comb in a sheep's fleece. The wool combers trade took Bishop Blaise as their patron saint, hence the use of the pub name in sheep country. Its existence in Barrow upon Soar is a reminder of the former importance of sheep in the local agriculture and of framework knitting which used the wool.
Traditionally, the wife did the spinning (hence the term spinster) and the husband did the knitting.