The Cadland in Chilwell, Nottinghamshire, is believed to be the only pub in the UK bearing that name.
What we know of the Cadland is that it has probably been a public house since the late 18th century – possibly earlier – but has only been known by that name since 1828. It was in that year, or very shortly afterwards, that the landlord changed the name to The Cadland, in recognition of the horse that won the Derby in May that year.
Cadland (1825–1837) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from April 1828 to 1831 he ran twenty-five times and won fifteen races, with several of his wins being walkovers in which all of his opponents were withdrawn. In the summer of 1828 he ran a dead heat with The Colonel in the Derby, before winning the race in a deciding run-off. He went on to have a long and successful racing career, winning a further eleven races before his retirement, and developing a notable rivalry with his contemporary Zinganee. Cadland was disappointing as a sire of winners in England and was exported to France, where he was much more successful. He died in 1837.
Local legend has it that the landlord named the pub after the horse because it was supposedly trained around the fields of Chilwell. This legend is dubious as records show the horse was never trained around Nottinghamshire and most probably never set a single horse shoe on a field in Chilwell. Another legend states that the landlord at the time named the pub after the horse after winning a very large sum of money betting on Cadland. Again this is only conjecture.
What we do know is that surviving licences show that between 1810 and 1825 the pub was known as The Bulls Head and that throughout this period the landlord was John Felton.
Unfortunately, no further licences survive for subsequent years, but White’s Trade Directory for 1832 indicates that the landlord was John Hopewell. It is not known exactly when he took over from John Felton, but one of these landlords was presumably the one who changed the name of the pub.