Before Thomas Telford constructed the cast iron Mythe Bridge over the River Severn in 1826 the main thoroughfare from Tewkesbury to the west towards Hereford and Wales was Quay Street. On the south side of Quay Street there were several beer houses that disappeared when the Mythe Bridge opened. Four pubs on the north side of Quay Street survived into the 20th century. The Coach and Horses was a brick building between the Star Inn and the Royal Oak. The Coach and Horses was the last pub in Quay Street, closing in 1962.

The approximate site of the Coach & Horses.

From ‘Tewkesbury Pubs’ by B.R. Linnell (1972, second edition 1996)

Quay Street used to be the main road to Hereford and wales before the building of the Mythe Bridge. Nobody knows how many pubs were on the south side as the whole length was demolished in 1840, but the north side was solid pub from end to end, with the ‘Coach’ one of the biggest. It was also the last one to close. A substantial brick building with cellars, two storeys, attics and a yard which opened into Red Lane. The latter was open to Quay street via an arched entrance which had been filled in sometime in the early 19th century. the arch was visible in the brickwork until the whole property was demolished in the 1980’s.

Rebuilding on the site removed all traces of the pub. The last licensee kept a loaded shotgun under the bar and was not adverse to firing it into the ceiling to expedite the departure of unwanted clients. He had taken over in 1942 in what would have been seen today as a flagrant breach of the Equal Opportunities Act. His three sons were serving overseas. Two of their wives were barmaids in the pub. Refusal of the licence to either or both of the women was on the grounds that they lacked the maturity or the experience to run a pub.

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Licensing Details:

Owner in 1891: Mary Ann Perry (free from brewery tie)

Rateable value in 1891: £16.0s.0d.

Type of licence in 1891: Alehouse

Owner in 1903:  Mary Ann Perry (free from brewery tie)

Rateable value in 1903: £40.0s.0d.

Type of licence in 1903: Alehouse

Closing time in 1903:

Landlords at the Coach & Horses include:

1774-1783 Mary Ward (widow)

1783-1786 Nicholas Mann

1786-1793 Benjamin Mann

1793-1810 Mary Mann (widow)

1810-1822 Joseph Hanforth

1822,1830 William Browett (also trading as a coal dealer in 1830)

1852 Frederick Browett

1856,1868 John H. Merrick

1885,1906 Mary Ann Perry 

1906-1908 Frederick Smith

1908-1918 Charles Hartland

1918-1942 Benjamin James Burford

1942 Archie Selby

1942-1962 Arthur Price

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