The Wheatsheaf, Alconbury Hill

History of the Wheatsheaf

The original coaching inn was described by Charles G Harper as a substantial building that was later divided into two private residences. It was different from the later smaller Wheatsheaf that stood at the road junction. (The map seems to show the later site.) The original inn was run at one time by John Warsop and supplied 30 pairs of post-horses a day.

It was also said to be a common resort of highwaymen as coach horses would be exhausted from the long climb from the south. One of the ostlers was said to try his hand at highway robbery, taking a horse from from the stable and disguising a candle as a gun. (A Grim Almanac of Cambridgeshire, N R Storey).