Well known to Hardy, and little changed since his day, this Inn was the Dorchester base for Judge Jeffreys (The Hanging Judge). At the Bloody Assizes held in Dorchester in 1685 Judge Jeffreys sentenced 74 people to be hung, drawn and quartered, and seventy five to be transported. Severed heads and entrails were hung at the entrance to many Dorset villages. Jeffreys was rewarded by being promoted to Lord Chancellor.