The Mug House

Last updated

The view of the Mug House from the churchyard of Claines church. Mug house.jpg
The view of the Mug House from the churchyard of Claines church.
An original wattle and daub panel at the Mug House. Wattledaub mughouse.jpg
An original wattle and daub panel at the Mug House.

The Mug House is a traditional public house located in the village of Claines, [1] Worcestershire, England, which dates back to the 15th century.

Contents

Overview

The Mug House pub is owned by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries and offers several Banks's bitters along with one or two other guest ales which rotate every few weeks. The owners have chosen to maintain a traditional atmosphere by not introducing games machines or music to the pub.

The Mug House has featured in the local news several times over the last few years due to stories that the pub is in some way haunted. [2] [3] The past few landlords have all claimed that there are regularly strange occurrences at the pub such as glasses smashing or dull knocking noises coming from the beer cellar at night. This has only increased the popularity of the pub.

Location

The Mug House is situated in the village of Claines, about three miles north of the city of Worcester. The exact location of the pub is near the junction where Claines Lane meets Cornmeadow Lane, just to the rear of Claines church. [4] The situation of the pub is such that one has to walk through, or very near, the graveyard of the church in order to access it. The pub is one of only two pubs in England to be situated on consecrated ground. [5]

Interior

Claines Church behind which the Mug House is situated. The Malvern Hills are visible in the background. Claines church.jpg
Claines Church behind which the Mug House is situated. The Malvern Hills are visible in the background.

The pub consists of four main public spaces inside on the ground floor. There is a back room, bar, hatch and a snug.[ citation needed ] The back room is most commonly used by diners at lunch time and from this room there is a view of the Malvern Hills. The hatch tends to be frequented when the other rooms are fully occupied. The ceilings inside the Mug House are quite low and as the building is timber framed many of the walls are not straight, because the building has settled over time. In order to access the toilets one must exit the main building because the toilets themselves are located in a separate outhouse. [3] The building is timber framed but there is a cellar.

Awards

The Mug House has won a Jubilee Heritage Award in a national competition to find Britain's prettiest pubs.[ citation needed ] Mounted by the Green Organisation, the competition was launched to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee in 2002 and the role pubs and landlords play in safeguarding natural heritage. The garden, described as a stunning blaze of red, white and blue blooms by all that have enjoyed it,[ citation needed ] helped secure the award.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Hart</span> Heraldic badge of Richard II of England

The White Hart was the personal badge of Richard II, who probably derived it from the arms of his mother, Joan "The Fair Maid of Kent", heiress of Edmund of Woodstock. It may also have been a pun on his name, as in "Rich-hart". In the Wilton Diptych, which is the earliest authentic contemporary portrait of an English king, Richard II wears a gold and enamelled white hart jewel, and even the angels surrounding the Virgin Mary all wear white hart badges. In English Folklore, the white hart is associated with Herne the Hunter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The George Inn, Southwark</span> Grade I listed pub in London, England

The George Inn, or The George, is a public house established in the medieval period on Borough High Street in Southwark, London, owned and leased by the National Trust. It is located about 250 metres (820 ft) from the south side of the River Thames near London Bridge and is the only surviving galleried London coaching inn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King's Head Inn, Aylesbury</span> English public house in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom

The King's Head is one of the oldest public houses with a coaching yard in the south of England. It is located in the Market Square, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, and is a Grade II* Listed Building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sparkhill</span> Inner-city area of Birmingham, England

Sparkhill is an inner-city area of Birmingham, England, situated between Springfield, Hall Green and Sparkbrook.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Queen Victoria</span> Fictional pub in the television series EastEnders

The Queen Victoria is the Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ye Olde Fighting Cocks</span> Pub in St Albans, England

Ye Olde Fighting Cocks is a public house in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. It is one of several pubs that lay claim to being the oldest in England, claiming to have been in business since 793 AD. The pub was once recognized as the oldest in England by the Guinness World Records, but this title was wrested in 2000. The building is described by Historic England as being of 16th-century appearance, but as the earliest date for which it can be proved to have been licensed is 1756, and even that date is not certain, its claim to this record is somewhat uncertain. Others such as the Ye Olde Man & Scythe in Bolton, Greater Manchester, and Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem in Nottingham may have better claims. Even in St Albans, the White Hart and the Fleur de Lys are believed to have been trading as inns in the late medieval period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Fleece, York</span> Grade II listed pub in York, England

The Golden Fleece is an inn in York, England, which has a free house pub on the ground floor and four guest bedrooms above. It dates back to at least the early 16th century, and claims to be the most haunted public house in York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claines</span> Human settlement in England

Claines is a small village just to the north of Worcester, England, on the east bank of the River Severn. Claines is situated in the heart of Worcestershire on the A449 between Worcester and Kidderminster. It has a church which dates from the 10th Century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holymoorside</span> Human settlement in England

Holymoorside is a village in the civil parish of Holymoorside and Walton, in the North East Derbyshire district, in the county of Derbyshire, England, approximately two miles west of Chesterfield. It is located at 53.21 North, -1.49 West. Close to the boundary of the Peak District National Park, Chatsworth House lies seven miles to the west of the village. In 2020 it had an estimated population of 1,419.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thorverton</span> Village in Devon, England

Thorverton is a civil parish and village in Devon, England, about a mile west of the River Exe and 8 miles (13 km) north of Exeter. It is almost centrally located between Exeter and the towns of Tiverton, Cullompton and Crediton, and contains the hamlets of Yellowford and Raddon. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Bickleigh, Rewe, Nether Exe, Brampford Speke, Upton Pyne, Shobrooke, Stockleigh Pomeroy and Cadbury. Most of the eastern boundary of the parish is formed by the River Exe and the land rises westwards to 800 feet (240 m) at the border with Cadbury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steventon, Oxfordshire</span> Human settlement in England

Steventon is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, about 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Abingdon and a similar distance west of Didcot. It lies within the boundaries of the historic county of Berkshire. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 1,485.

The Green Wood Centre in Coalbrookdale, Shropshire – formerly the Green Wood Trust, which was formed in 1984 with the help of many volunteers and specialists who were concerned about the environment – is now the home of the Small Woods Association a registered charity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin & Newby</span>

Martin & Newby was the oldest shop in Ipswich, Suffolk until it closed down in June 2004. The business was established in Fore Street in 1873 and was based around 5 departments: Ironmongery, Electrical, Domestic, Gardening and Tools. The shop gave a very traditional personal service, it was reported by local press that the shop closed down because they could not compete with DIY Superstores such as B&Q and the increasing range of products offered by supermarkets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Vine Tree</span> Public house in Monmouth, UK

The Vine Tree is a public house situated in Monnow Street in the town of Monmouth, Wales. The building has been a Grade II Listed building since 18 November 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tawney Common</span> Human settlement in England

Tawney Common also known as Woodhatch, is a hamlet in the civil parish of Stapleford Tawney in the Epping Forest district of the county of Essex, England. It is approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) east of Epping, 4 miles (6 km) west of Chipping Ongar and 13 miles (20 km) west from the county town of Chelmsford. Stapleford Tawney is approximately 2 miles (3 km) to the south. Tawney Common is south of the hamlet of Collier's Hatch, also in the Stapleford Tawney parish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">9 and 9A Southgate Street, Gloucester</span> Merchants house in Gloucester, United Kingdom

9 and 9A Southgate Street is a 17th-century Jacobean timber-framed merchant's house on Southgate Street, Gloucester. It has been a Grade I listed building since 23 January 1952. 9 Southgate Street is now occupied by Costa Coffee and 9A Southgate Street is occupied by The Tiger's Eye restaurant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Palisade Hotel</span> Historic pub in Sydney, New South Wales

Palisade Hotel is a heritage-listed pub and hotel located at 35–37 Bettington Street, in the inner city Sydney suburb of Millers Point of New South Wales, Australia, adjacent to Barangaroo Reserve. Administratively, the hotel is in the City of Sydney local government area. It was designed by H. D. Walsh and built in 1915–16. It is privately owned. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Blue Bell, York</span> Grade II* listed pub in York, England

The Blue Bell is a historic pub in the city centre of York, England. The pub lies on the south-west side of Fossgate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Swan, York</span> Grade II listed pub in York, England

The Swan is a Grade II listed historic pub, lying immediately south-west of the city centre of York, in England.

References

  1. The Mug House, Claines, Friends of Claines, UK.
  2. "The Mug House Inn". Cotswolds.info. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  3. 1 2 Alison Brinkworth (8 October 2021). "The Mug House in Claines - Inside the 'most haunted pub in Worcestershire' near the M5". Birmingham Mail . Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  4. Mug House, welovelocal.com.
  5. Chris Arnot, Worcestershire Pub Guide: The Mug House, Claines, The Daily Telegraph , 8 September 2007.

52°13′40″N2°13′08″W / 52.227721°N 2.218927°W / 52.227721; -2.218927