The Antelope Inn, located at No. 8 High Street, has been a fixture in Poole for hundreds of years. Built in the 1500s, it likely began as either a home or an inn. Its creation followed King Henry VI’s decision to turn Poole into a designated staple port in 1433.

The Melledge family

In 1620, John Melledge, a wealthy grocer from Dorchester, purchased the Antelope. He owned the building for another decade or so before his death in the 1630s, after which the ownership of the Antelope is contested, but it was likely his youngest son, Johnson Melledge who inherited the property.

The Melledges likely harboured royalist sympathies, which Johnson paid for by being arrested in March 1643 for suspected disloyalty to Parliament. Before vanishing from the records for six years, he was ‘kept prisoner aboard the ship that lies in the Harbour of Poole’ and stripped of his title of Innkeeper and Collector of Customs.

During this turmoil, it was Johnson's mother, Alice Melledge, who kept the Antelope running.

A legacy of remarkable women

Women often played a crucial role in the Antelope's history. By 1690, the property had been sold, but within the three or so decades prior, the Antelope saw its fair share of landladies.

For a short while in the 1660s the property was owned by an Elizabeth Melledge, likely the widow of Johnson’s brother, Micha.

By 1678, Alice Melledge was back, running the Antelope and acquiring her own wealth and income doing so.

Just a couple decades later, however, an Elizabeth Stanley acted as landlady from the early-to-mid 18th century after the death of her husband, once again returning the Antelope to a widowed woman.

After the death of their husbands, independence for widows was more achievable; Alice Melledge, for instance, prospered in her position without the help of her husband, and the same could be said for Elizabeth Stanley, who kept her position as landlady until her death in 1764.

This was true for numerous women in Poole, not just innkeepers, who took over the family business once their husbands had died.

Royal connections 

The entourage of deposed French king, Charles the 10th stayed at the Antelope and the London Tavern in 1830. Just over two decades later, the Prince of Wales stopped at the Antelope whilst tutoring in Poole.

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