The Burn Bullock is former public house in

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It ...

, in the

London Borough of Merton The London Borough of Merton () is a London borough in London, England. The borough was formed under the London Government Act 1963 in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Mitcham, the Municipal Borough of Wimbledon and the Merton ...

, England (at the time of its construction, the area was part of the county of

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

). Parts of the building are thought to date to the 16th century. It was badly damaged by fire in April 2024.

History

The King's Head Hotel was built as a

coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of t ...

. The Association of Cricket Umpires and Scorers was founded in the pub in 1953. It was

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

in 1954, giving it legal protection from unauthorised alteration or demolition. In 1975 the pub was renamed for its former manager, the cricketer

Burnett Bullock Burnett Wedlake "Burn" Bullock (5 October 1896 – 22 December 1954) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Surrey County Cricket Club, Surrey in a few matches between 1922 and 1924. He was born in Redhill, Surrey and died in Balham ...

, who ran it from 1941 to 1954. The pub was closed in September 2009 because of ongoing

anti-social behaviour Anti-social behaviours, sometimes called dissocial behaviours, are actions which are considered to violate the rights of or otherwise harm others by committing crime or nuisance, such as stealing and physical attack or noncriminal behaviours s ...

. Around that time, it was sold for £450,000 to Phoenix GRP Investments Ltd., a newly-formed company. In 2014, concerns were raised about the building's use by

squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there wer ...

. The same year, it was added to

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

's "

Heritage at Risk Register An annual ''Heritage at Risk Register'' is published by Historic England. The survey is used by national and local government, a wide range of individuals and heritage groups to establish the extent of risk and to help assess priorities for acti ...

". On 19 April 2024, the empty building was badly damaged by fire. The fire was attended by twelve fire appliances, including a 32-metre

turntable ladder A fire engine or fire truck (also spelled firetruck) is a vehicle, usually a specially designed or modified truck, that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water t ...

, and about 80 firefighters.

Architecture

The three-storey building's entry on the National Heritage List for England notes its features as including a five-bay front built in the early to mid 18th century, using yellow brick with red dressings, with a wing built in the 16th or 17th century, featuring panelling from the same era. The front has a central doric porch and sash windows with glazing bars. The second and fourth windows of the upper floor are blind.

Nearby

Adjacent to the pub is Mitcham Cricket Club's pavilion, which is under the same ownership as the pub. Unusually, the pavilion and the club's ground are separated by a road.

References

{{Reflist Pubs in the London Borough of Merton Grade II listed pubs in London Buildings and structures completed in the 16th century 2024 fires in Europe Coaching inns