Mary Smith was the owner of the Lamb Inn in 1891 – a beer house with an annual rateable value of £11.4s.0d. There was a lease agreement with the Redbrook Brewery, but it seems that by 1903 the Lamb was in their ownership. Oliver Arthur Burgham, proprietor of the Redbrook Brewery, is recorded as the owner in 1903. Closing time was at 10 pm. The Redbrook Brewery and their pubs were acquired by Ind Coope & Co. of Burton on Trent in 1923.
The Lamb is a cosy pub with wooden settles and warming log fires in the winter and is just 50 yards from the ancient Clear Well in the village. In days gone by workers from the long defunct nearby iron foundry would have once frequented the pub.
Forest of Dean & Ross-on-Wye Pubs. A critical guide by Jon Hurley (booklet, 1991): This two bar pub in the village boasts large and varied menus which include a selection of Home Made Pizzas with such catchy titles as “The Flamethrower”, and for the really greedy, a whopper called “The Dustbin Lid” which is thirteen inches round and features among other titbits smoked sausage! Most of what they serve is home made. There is a small log fire in the smaller of the two bars and the service is friendly. Wine is available by the bottle and by the glass and the beer is Ansell’s.
It was feared that the Lamb had closed. The pub sign had been removed and throughout the coronavirus pandemic the Lamb Inn never opened for business. There was great joy in the community when the Lamb finally re-opened before Christmas 2021. The Lamb is a wonderful pub and its permanent closure would have been a sad loss for the village of Clearwell.
The Lamb has very limited opening times, being open only during weekends. (Closed Monday-Thursday) Fred, the landlord, manages to offer three or four real ales on tap in that limited time. The ales are dispensed direct from small casks racked in a room behind the bar. The quality of the beers are very good – a credit to Fred and his ability to keep the ales fresh. Sales are strictly cash-only, which may catch some people out in our increasing cashless society.
The Lamb has a welcoming bar area to the left with cosy settles, and a comforting snug to the right. There is an impressive Mitchell & Butlers sign displayed above the fireplace and the walls throughout the Lamb are decorated with interesting brewery memorabilia and local historic photographs and documents.
Landlords at the Lamb Inn include:
1891,1903 George Edwards
1939 Leonard Roberts
