Red Cow Beerhouse, 17 Sheep Lane, Potsgrove 

The earliest document in Bedfordshire & Luton Archives & Records Service mentioning the Red Cow beerhouse| is one of 1845 in which counsel gives opinions on a number of houses, including the Red Cow, owned by Leighton Buzzard Brewery, which was in the process of being sold to Joseph Procter.

The beerhouse was valued for rates under the 1925 valuation Act. It was owned by the Duke of Bedford and had closed as a beerhouse in 1918 but is noted as once having been the Red Cow. The valuer considered the premises to be "v.poor" and a "Poor sort of place"; it consisted of a living room and scullery downstairs and three bedrooms upstairs with a stable for two beasts outside which, it was noted was neglected. The premises did not even contain a cellar for storing the beer. The building was cement faced and thatched. Today [2006] this thatched property is an attractive private house.

Licencees: note that this is not a complete list and that dates in italics are not necessarily beginning or end dates, merely the first/last date which can be confirmed from sources such as directories and deeds:

1845: William Tame;
1850-1853: Thomas Phillips (also carpenter);
1861-1885: Daniel Hobbs;
1885-1886: Thomas Fields;
1886: Charles Bolton;
1886-1893: Frederick Going;
1893-1917: Henry Rolls;
1917-1918: Eliza Rolls
Beerhouse closed 1918 

References of Documents held by Bedfordshire & Luton Archives & Records Service

- Z1118/1/21/10: Counsel's opinion on title of premises: 26 Jul 1845;
- Z1118/1/21/17: Further opinion on title: 21 Sep 1845;
- Z1118/1/21/16: valued at £160: c.1845;
- Z1118/1/21/27: Land Tax assessment; William Tame tenant: c.1845;
- Z1118/1/21/18: details of value and repairs: 1845;
- CRTPot130/3: notes; c.1860-1926;
- BML10/42/60: sale particulars: 17 Aug 1880