The famous rival to the Cock Hotel was its near neighbour, The Bull. It was here that the great fire started in 1742 when a chambermaid, afraid of being reprimanded for burning a sheet whilst ironing it, stuffed the sheet up a chimney. When the resulting fire reached the thatch, it spread rapidly down the street, and even across the river as blazing thatch was swept along by the wind. By the time the fire was over, most of the lower part of the town including St Mary's Church had been destroyed.

The same view in the 1920s. We can't help but notice how few cars were on the road, compared with the situation we have today. Roads are equally free of traffic in the view below, looking south on a sunny afternoon in the late 19th century. The wrought ironwork supporting the hotel sign shows up particularly well.

The contemporary view is much altered. Dirt roads where people could walk in relative safety from passing traffic are very much a distant memory - if they are a memory at all.