The History behind it.
Known as the Three Tuns for a long time,this beautiful grade II* listed building is thought to have been built around 1570 although there is the possibility that there was a building there prior to this date. To put it into a historical perspective, in January 1540 Henry VIII married Anne of Cleves his fourth wife, by July they were divorced and by the end of the same month he had married Catherine Howard. She was beheaded in February 1542 and in July 1543 Henry married his sixth and final wife Catherine Parr. Henry died in 1547 and was succeeded by his son Edward.
By the time of the first mention of the property in 1577 when it was know as The Walpoles, Elizabeth I was Queen of England. James I succeeded Elizabeth in 1603 and in 1617 the property was granted its first wine license.
Halesworth was one of the fastest growing towns in East Anglia and in 1619 there were at least eight butcher's stalls in the market and ten victualers, brewers and innkeepers in the town.
In March 1625 Charles I became King but as with his father before him disagreements with parliament continued. In January 1649 Charles I was beheaded and England become a Commonwealth under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell. Despite the unrest caused by the Civil War East Anglia continued to prosper. The population of Halesworth doubling between 1603 and 1674.
During the 18th Century the town continued to expand. In 1730 Thomas Cox wrote 'The town is populous, and the Market good'.
The brewing trade in particular was attracting investors into the town. Robert Reeve moved to Halesworth and was successful as a maltster, brewer and merchant. In 1764 he became the tenant of The Three Tuns and its brewery. After his death in 1793 his son took over the brewing business which eventually included over thirty public houses in and around Halesworth. During the 1840s the Reeve family sold their brewing empire to their partner Thomas Cracknell. In 1855 he sold the Halesworth Brewery, The Three Tons and 13 public houses to Thompson George. After Thompson's death the brewery became the property of Messrs Croft & Flick who in 1888 sold the brewery to the Colchester Brewing Co. Ltd. In 1927 the company sold up its holdings in the town by public auction. The Three Tuns was bought by Adnams Brewery and leased to the Halesworth Social Club.
In May 2014 the Social Club closed its doors and the building was put up for sale by Adnams. Kate Button who had run Blackdog Antiques in Bungay for 29 years decided it was the perfect place to move Blackdog to and acquired the property on 31st October 2014.Three hundred and ninety seven years after its first wine license was granted the building began a new chapter.