The claim
The Black Bull stands on Churchgate in Moffat and dates itself to 1568. Historic Environment Scotland is more careful: it calls the standing building probably eighteenth-century, on the site of an earlier inn, and records 1568 as the inn's own claim. Robert Burns drank here on his excise rounds, and Graham of Claverhouse is said to have used the house as a headquarters in the 1670s. Cask ale, fifteen rooms, and closed for part of the winter.
What the records show
The 1568 date is the inn's own, and CAMRA's Dumfries and Stewartry branch repeats it, calling the building the oldest in Moffat still in use. Historic Environment Scotland takes a different view: its category B record dates the standing building to probably the 18th century, on the site of an earlier inn, and writes the 1568 date down as a claim rather than a finding. Claverhouse's lodging here in 1678 is also given as tradition. No 16th-century document or fabric has been traced.
What to look for inside
- Historic Environment Scotland records the 1568 date as a claim and dates the building to probably the 18th century
- Burns Room, from the poet's visits while an excise officer
- Said to have been Graham of Claverhouse's headquarters in the 1670s
Visiting
Black Bull Inn is in Moffat, Scotland, at Churchgate, Moffat DG10 9EG. We do not list opening times, because they change; the pub’s own site is the place to check before you set out.
Sources
- www.theblackbullmoffat.co.uk/history/
- portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB37883
- camra.org.uk/pubs/black-bull-inn-moffat-148368
- ratings.food.gov.uk/business/1206446
- www.theblackbullmoffat.co.uk/
Know something we don’t?Suggest a correctionLast checked Sept 2026
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