Inns of Higher Disley

At the "Top of Disley" were two inns, the Bull's Head and the Blazing Rag (or Flaming Rag).  These two hostelries catered for travellers crossing Whaley Moor.  The new turnpike road, passing through Furness Vale opened in 1804 and these two inns lost much of their traffic and eventually they closed.  The Blazing Rag lived up to its name and was partly damaged by fire.   Susan Marshall suggested that it was here that William Wood was met by his assailants before meeting his death at Longside in 1823.  The film, "A Village Story" suggests that Byron House (illustrated) is the former Blazing Rag

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The Bull's Head was about 600 metres downhill. It is now a house called Stone Seat, a Grade II listed building. Its stables became four private houses. The inn lost its licence in 1829.  This was also one of the buildings where wooden skewers had been made, a cottage industry centred on Higher Disley.   The Bull's Head was probably a coaching inn providing a change of horses for traffic making the steep climb from Disley village.

 

Disley Ancient and Modern by Susan Marshall. was published in 1967