The Black Bull, formerly known as the Black Bull Inn and Black Bull Hotel, is a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

Preesall Preesall is a town, civil parish and electoral ward in Lancashire, England. The parish (until 1910 known as Preesall with Hackensall) covers the eastern bank of the estuary of the River Wyre, including Knott End-on-Sea, Pilling Lane and the vil ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, England. Dating to 1762, it stands on Park Lane. The inn's first licencee was John Bamber, who ran it between 1776 and 1789. Between 1853 and 1892, the role was filled by John Parkinson. In 1872, during Parkinson's tenure, a "syndicate of men" from

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town in Cumbria, England. Historically in Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1867 and merged with Dalton-in-Furness Urban District in 1974 to form the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness. In 2023 the ...

stayed at the inn during their search for

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

in the area. None was to be found, but they did discover a bed of

rock salt Halite (), commonly known as rock salt, is a type of salt, the mineral (natural) form of sodium chloride ( Na Cl). Halite forms isometric crystals. The mineral is typically colorless or white, but may also be light blue, dark blue, purple, pi ...

, from which they took a sample. Upon returning to the inn, Parkinson's 17-year-old daughter,

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Characters *Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum * Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character playe ...

, processed the sample by dissolving, filtering and boiling it, thus creating the very first example of Preesall salt. In 1902, Preesall Salt Works was built to the north of the village's salt marshes, on the eastern banks of the

River Wyre The River Wyre is a river in Lancashire, England, United Kingdom, which flows into the Irish Sea at Fleetwood. It is approximately 28 miles (45 km) in length. The river is a County Biological Heritage Site and has a sheltered estuary ...

.''A History of Blackpool, the Fylde and South Wyre''
– Nick Moore (2018), p. 112 Dorothy married another John Parkinson and spent her life as a farmer's wife at

Hackensall Hall Farm Hackensall Hall, also known as Hackensall Hall Farmhouse, is an historic building on Whinny Lane in Preesall, Lancashire, England. It is Grade II listed, built in 1873. A remodelling of a 17th-century house, it retains much of its earlier fabr ...

, where she raised nine children. She died in 1925."Dangers beneath Lancashire's fields"
– ''

Lancashire Evening Post The ''Lancashire Evening Post'' is a daily newspaper based in Fulwood, a suburb of the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. According to the British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of th ...

'', 11 December 2018 The current licencee took over in late 2022, succeeding Anthony Gills.

References

External links

* 1762 establishments in England Buildings and structures in the Borough of Wyre Pubs in Lancashire Hotels in Lancashire {{pub-stub