Bull Baiting

Bull baiting took place in the Market Place. It had been very popular public entertainment since Roman times until it was finally banned in 1835.

There are written reports of bulls being baited as part of the entertainment at a local wedding in the 1790s.

Bull baiting, where a tethered bull was attacked by a dog, was a very popular public entertainment since Roman times.  The Ashbourne bull ring was at the top of the Market Place in the vicinity of the Wright Memorial.  Bull baiting in a market place would attract a good crowd, which was good for trade especially in the ale houses.  In the 1800s, there was growing opposition to this "sport", and it was finally banned in 1835.

Ashbourne was substantially destroyed by fire in 1252. The present Market Place is likely to have been established afterwards. It was a large triangular space surrounded by timber frame buildings. It would have stretched from the hill on Buxton Road to the site of the Green Man Inn. The infill buildings came later.

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