In the 18th century, the Inn was known for the cockfighting on the moors behind the pub, and for being a trading point in corn and fish. Surplus corn from Danby, Commondale and the Fryup's, was sold to the horse-breeders and stable owners of Ryedale. Later, many of those who were patrons at the pub worked in the coal-mining industry, with many pits still visible on Blakey Moor. Then in the 1850s, the ironstone mining industry and its associated railway, brought an enhanced trade to the pub. In the 19th century, the pub was called The Black Lion Inn, or Blakey House.
