If not Bridgewater, the landlord was probably Bulstrode, the lord of the manor, and chief personage in the village.
The Miltons still kept a footing in the metropolis.

Christopher Milton, on his admission to the Inner Temple in September, 1632, is described as second son of John Milton of London, and subsequent legal proceedings disclose that the father, with the aid of his partner, was still doing business as a scrivener in 1637.

It may be guessed that the veteran cit would not be sorry to find himself occasionally back in town.

What with social exclusiveness, political and religious controversy, and uncongeniality of tastes, the Miltons' country circle of acquaintance was probably narrow.

After five years of country life the younger Milton at all events thought seriously of taking refuge in an Inn of Court, "wherever there is a pleasant and shady walk," and tells Diodati, "Where I am now I live obscurely and in a cramped manner." He had only just made the acquaintance of his distinguished neighbour, Sir Henry Wotton, Provost of Eton, by the beginning of 1638, though it appears that he was previously acquainted with John Hales.
Milton's five years at Horton were nevertheless the happiest of his life.