Although the Lamb Inn is located on the south side of the A4136 roundabout on the junction of New Road, Gloucester Road and Abenhall Road in Mitcheldean, it lies within the parish of Abenhall, a hamlet half a mile to the south of Mitcheldean.
The Lamb Inn was an ale house and had an annual rateable value of £15.0s.0d. in 1891 and 1903. In 1891 the Lamb was owned by Thomas Stephens and was free from brewery tie. Twelve years later the Lamb was owned by Francis Wintle’s Mitcheldean Forest Brewery, who then enjoyed a monopoly of pubs in the town. The Lamb closed at 10pm.
Forest of Dean and Ross on Wye Pubs. A critical guide by Jon Hurley (booklet, 1991): A well stocked counter with piles of Pies and Sandwiches, Sausages and other fare was a good sign as we entered this quite modest little pub. Three large vases of fresh daffodils brightened the bar with its small electric fire and formica topped tables, brasses, flock wallpaper and shiny seats. Spick, span and well run the Lamb is worthy of a stop when passing through the Forest if a light luncheon and a half of Flower’s is what’s required.
In 2002 I had an email from Margaret Longley in Doncaster who told me that her Grandfathers sister, Alice Meek, married Alfred Barnard of the Lamb Inn. She was able to tell me that the excise license of the Lamb Inn was granted to Alfred Barnard on February 5th 1915 and relinquished to Herbert Symons on 22nd April 1921.
Margaret also gave details that the Lamb was owned by the Cheltenham Original Brewery in 1921 and had a rental value of £17 per annum. This is worthy of note as the Forest Brewery in Mitcheldean was not taken over by the rival Cheltenham Brewery until March 1930. The Lamb Inn must have been sold to the Original Brewery before brewing ceased in the town. For those beer drinkers in Mitchleldean not particularly keen on their local brew, the chance to drink Cheltenham Ales as an alternative would have been appreciated. A reminder of its past links with the Cheltenham Brewery is a ‘West Country Ales – Best in the West’ ceramic plaque that remains in situ.
A chip pan caught fire in the kitchen of the Lamb Inn in July 2011 which caused the pub to be evacuated. Two fire crews attended the pub and spent an hour at the scene. The kitchen was badly smoke-damaged, but fire-fighters were able to stop the blaze from spreading. One man, who had attempted to put out the fire, suffered from smoke inhalation.
There was an unexpected delivery in the car park of the Lamb Inn at 2 pm on Monday 20th September 2017. A heavily pregnant woman gave birth to a boy whilst she was at the pub a for family funeral wake. An ambulance was called but the baby was born on a stretcher in the open air in the car park. The pub staff nicknamed the baby boy ‘Mitch’ and ‘Larry’ (The Lamb), but when the woman came back to the pub to thank the staff a few days later with her new born boy he had the name Joshua.
Landlords at the Lamb Inn include:
1856,1863 J. Haile
1876 Mrs Charlotte Haile (presumably the wife, or widow, of J. Haile)
1885,1891 Mrs Sarah Pearce
1902,1903,1906 Daniel Simmonds
1915 –1921 Alfred Barnard (Alfred married Alice Meek)
1921 Herbert Symons
1927 Thomas R. Bishop
1939 Thomas Hy. Bishop
2017 Yvonne Meek
2021 Phil Keene
