About Us
Our distant ancestors, the cave men and women, had the campfire.
They would gather there, they lived around it and socialised around it, they learned their life skills in its glowing, flickering flame. It was the centre of the community, the source of warmth, the source of heat to cook, the place where stories were told and learning happened.
We don’t have camp fires, we have the pub. (Mark Dredge)
The Bluebell in Helpston boasts all the charm you'd expect from a village inn with oodles of quirky character thrown in and an old-fashioned belief that a pub should have a social heart, and be flowing with drinks and great food served by people who care.
So here you'll always be greeted with a warm, friendly smile and the same hospitality which has been offered here for over 250 years!
The Bluebell is thought to have been built in the 1700’s. It was a house with craftsmen’s workshops and stables. Although is not been possible to find the original date of the building, we do know that from around 1780 the landlord was Francis Gregory. In 1863 Helpston had three inns and five beer houses (one for about every 45 adult males in the population).
Known as The Bell or The Bluebell the origin of the name is not known. The name Bell is thought to have a religious slant as it was often used to indicate that the inn was located in close proximity to a church. Whatever the origin of the name, the current pub sign is unusual in that one side shows a blue bell and the other side a young girl holding a bunch of bluebell flowers
John Clare (1793-1864) is one of our most celebrated and best loved nature poets in the English language. Clare was born on the 13th July 1793 to Parker Clare and Ann Stimson. His childhood home was one of a pair of cottages next door to the Bluebell. The cottage is open to the public on selected days.
Searching for family from Helpston? The Helpston History Group may be able to help. View their website here
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