The Wellington Pub began life in its present form when it was reopened after a massive refurbishment, in March 2014, by Chris Grandison and Chris Samuels, backed by Stuart and Christine Samuels.

 

The premises has a long a varied history, with the core of the building dating back to 1730.  This  heart has become the focal point of the bar area with a beautiful inglenook fireplace housing a modern day wood burning stove to create a great ambience on a chilly winters evening.  The far side of the chimney breast boasts a beautiful green marble fireplace which has been retained in the  pool and darts room. 

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Historically the Wellington has been many things, including 'Barley Porter's village stores', an off license, and a Mexican restaurant, before being converted in to the pub as we know it today.  The area near the inglenook fireplace was actually the parlour of the accommodation which provided a home for the store keeper, and we have found evidence of the staircase to the upper floors originally being sited in-front of the TV.

 

In the early 1980's the current bar area was an off license shop and the 'Wine Lodge' was created in what is now the rear wing and games room.  In the late 1980's the Wine Lodge became just The Lodge and was turned into a Mexican  Restaurant.  This conversion saw the living accommodation removed from the ground floor and the public area expanded.  The layout created at this point is broadly similar to what exists today. During our renovations we found evidence of the red flock wall paper which was the decor during this time.  More recently the pub was run with the bar in the current location being renamed The Wine Lodge with the main door adjacent to the bow window.

 

On the upper floors we found evidence of a multitude of different decor through the ages, some of the many layers of wallpaper found in the current stairwell are preserved in a frame for all to see.  The rafters in the roof space above the living accomodation are actually round tree lengths, not planed timber as we would expect to see today.  There are areas of exposed brickwork where there is evidence of previous adjoining gables which all give glimpses of what might have gone before.

 

As historians, both Chris's are fascinated by the story yet to be told by the building they now call home, and would welcome any information about what has gone before so that they can piece together some more of the secrets of number 27 to 29 High Street.  So if you have a story to tell, please come on in and have a chat, a warm welcome will await you.