Benbridges Inn

Benbridges Inn was a large house on the northwest corner of Lime Street. The Inn appears to be named after Ricardus de Pembrugge, a Knight and owner of a large piece of land in Lime Street Ward in 1376 (Harben; BHO). In 1454 the draper Ralph Holland bestowed the large messuage to the Master and Wardens of the Fraternity of Tailors and Linen Armourers of St John the Baptist (Harben; BHO). Soon thereafter they set up a fayre large frame of timber for a large house and built three other tenement buildings adjoining it (Stow; BHO).
Though Stow mentions little about the building itself, he is adamant that the Tudor landlords were good people. He notes that when Alderman Kirton gave the Inn and tenement houses, along with his daughter Grisild’s hand in marriage, to Nicholas Woodroffe during the reign of Edward VI, a period of excellent tenant-landlord relations prevailed: This worshipfull man, and the Gentlewoman his widow after him, kept those houses downe Limestreet in good reparations, neuer put out but one tennant, tooke no fines, nor raysed rents of them, which was ten shillings the peece yerely (Stow; BHO). Stow goes on to mention gravely, however, that when Grisild died, the benevolent approach went with her, much to the dismay of the tenants (Stow; BHO).
In 1799, over a century after the above episode, the site of the Inn was incorporated into the lands of East India House (see Blome 1720 for location) (Harben; BHO). The Inn is neither named nor featured on the Agas map.

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