CAMPAIGN FOR REAL ALE

LEICESTERSHIRE - Whitwick, Three Horseshoes

National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors Part One

11 Leicester Road, Whitwick, LE67 5GN

Tel: 01530 837311

Listed Status: Grade II

View this pub on a local map

One of only a handful of pubs in the whole of the UK that can be described as virtually 100% unchanged, at least since before WWII. It is nicknamed ‘Polly Burton’s’ after the current landlady’s grandmother who started the business over a century ago. Originally four cottages, it was converted into a pub in 1882 (the date on the front of the building). In the tiny inner lobby, which is more like a vestibule with part-glazed partition walls, the off-sales hatch with its diminutive sash windows is still in use today. The public bar is through the latch door to the left which has a ‘1’ on the inside - a requirement of licensing magistrates in the past. The public bar has been this size since the building was converted to pub use as the red quarry-tiled floor and the extensive bench seating straddle 'the join' of two rooms of the original cottage. Original fittings indicate the low, solid bar counter, bar-back shelves and wood surround fireplaces at the front left and rear right with rows of glazed bricks. Note the baffle at the end of the seating near the exit door to outside toilets. The only change seems to be the boxing-in of the seating in the later 20th century. There is nothing as modern as a till here, just pint glasses for notes and some coins, with low value coins just loosely laid on one of the shelves. The only modern item is the piano which is played for the occasional sing-song. To the right of the lobby is the tiny snug with a bare wooden floor, another Victorian fireplace with rows of tiles down each side and basic bench seating. Service is from a hatch to the back of the bar servery. There are three tables with Formica tops well worn from the regular playing of dominoes on them. Outside gents' and ladies' toilets.