The Hobnails dates back to the 15th century. It was built in 1473. The rateable values of just £8.0s.0d. in 1891 and £8.2s.6d. in 1903 are surprisingly low given its status as an ale house.
When Stephen and Venessa Fairbrother retired from the pub in August 1999 it brought to an end more than 250 years of the Hobnails being in the same family. In 1743 Timothy Shurey ran the pub. His descendants, the Fletcher family, ran the pub until Stephen and Venessa retired. The Hobnails Inn was one of the first pubs to specialise in food. In the early 1950’s the landlady June Fletcher made steak baps to a secret family recipe and people came from far and wide to enjoy them. Baps were still being served at the Hobnails Inn during the late 1990’s. Landlord Stephen Fairbrother even got a nickname – ‘Bapman!’
The ‘Famous Bap Builder’ was a bit like a pizza. You could choose a basic filling such as gammon, steak or chicken and then add extra toppings.
The Hobnails Inn suffered from flash flooding in the Great Gloucestershire Flood of 20th July 2007. The water was three feet high in the bar and restaurant but, despite this upheaval, the pub accommodated 150 stranded motorists overnight. Landlord David McLean told the ‘Gloucestershire Echo’: “It was a tight squeeze. A lot of the bar and restaurant area had been flooded, but we managed. There were 150 people in a space we’d normally have had about thirty in. They only had chairs and there were no blankets but there was a great camaraderie.” The repairs to the pub cost £150,000 and it was closed until 26th October 2007.
This page will be updated with additional information.
Map Reference: SO 991332
https://www.quality-inns.co.uk/pubs/ye-olde-hobnails-little-washbourne/
Licensing Details:
Owner in 1891: Samuel Gist (free from brewery tie)
Rateable value in 1891: £8.0s.0d.
Type of licence in 1891: Alehouse
Owner in 1903: Samuel Gist (free from brewery tie)
Rateable value in 1903: £8.2s.6d.
Type of licence in 1903: Alehouse
Closing time in 1903: 10pm
Owner in 2003: Enterprise Inns
Landlords at the Hobnails Inn include:
1743 Timothy Shurey
1856 E. & A. Williams
1885,1891,1903 John Davis
1906 Nathan Lyford
1919,1927 Mrs R. Fletcher
1939 Philip Fletcher
1973 Miss Vanessa Fletcher
Ralph and June Fletcher
-1981 June Fletcher
1981 Stephen and Vanessa Fairbrother (Vanessa is daughter of June Fletcher)
1999 Alan and Martin Hand
2004 Philip Johnson and Marnie Wright
2004 (Aug), 2007 Janice Minett and David McLean