The Anchor Inn was located at Shakesfield, just to the north of Dymock, on the Hereford and Gloucester canal where it crossed the Leominster road.
The canal opened in 1798 following the completion of the 2192 yard Oxenhall tunnel and emerged in a deep cutting near Boyce Court and its northwards course passed immediately west of Dymock village before curving by the Old Grange and Tiller’s green to adopt a route close to the river Leadon.
The Anchor Inn was probably built at the same time as the Hereford and Gloucester canal, initially serving the navvies constructing the canal and later boatmen. It is known that the landlord of the Anchor Inn in 1851 was also a coal dealer, so barges might call at the inn for fuel and, no doubt, liquid refreshment.
However, the life of the canal was short-lived and the Great Western Railway utilised much of the course of the waterway for their Gloucester to Ledbury line which opened in 1885. The GWR Dymock station was closer to the village, and the so the Anchor must have suffered from a decline in trade.
In the twelve years from 1891 to 1903 the Anchor Inn was trading as a free house, and the annual rateable value of the beer house was £14.0s.0d. Elizabeth Jones is listed as the owner in 1891, with W.A. Welsh in occupancy, and George Jones the owner in 1903, with Rose Ann Welsh as the occupying landlady. Closing time was at 10 pm.
I have found no other records pertaining to the Anchor Inn suggesting that it had closed before the First World War.
