Shropshire Star

Video and pictures: Jon toasting success of Ludlow 'parlour pub'

When he opened his living room to thirsty punters after a drink, Jon Saxon had no idea if anyone would turn up.

Published

But two months on and his "parlour pub" is booming – despite there being no sign outside, and only ever one beer on tap.

Mr Saxon, a 43-year-old publisher who is based in Ludlow, said that the idea of a pub in the kitchen and front room of his town house at 14 Corve Street had been brewing for about five years, and is actually a revival of a tradition from days gone by.

Mr Saxon said: "Travelling the country for my pub magazine, I have visited many untouched examples, including the Dyffrn Arms in Pontfaen – in my mind the last true remaining parlour pub. But they used to be everywhere.

"People talk so fondly about going back to the old ways: I thought it would be great to try and start one – and Ludlow is the perfect place for it.

"At one time there would have been hundreds of such home pubs here, serving ale or beer, either made in a small brew house in the backyard or from a nearby pub."

He added: "Corve Street played a major part in this brewing, with records listing 18 malthouses on the street in the late 18th century, increasing to 30 some 60 years later.

"I actually have a lettings advert for No 14, dated 1824, which – along with the parlour and kitchen – lists a brew house, with good cellaring: at the moment I am using all but the 'brew house' though new brewery vessels sit collecting dust in the cellar, with a home-grown crop of hops at the ready.

Until he adds home-brewed beers to the menu, Mr Saxon has the products of the recent boom in microbreweries to draw upon, he said.

Jon Saxon outside his parlour pub

"Since I opened I have had just under 30 different beers from 15 different breweries, such as Big Shed, Broughs and Rowton – beers that many people around here might not have otherwise tried.

"I have four beers prepared, but only one goes on at any one time, which does expose people to, say a New World Pale when they'd perhaps opt for a traditional Best Bitter given half the chance."

He has called the establishment The Dog Hangs Well, a corruption of popular Midlands pub name The Gate Hangs Well, with a local twist referring to a plot of woodland within the prior hunting estate of the British Royal Family (which stood as a visible deterrent to poachers within what we know as Mortimer's Forest) where their hunting dogs could meet their fate if caught.

"Naturally a few would have preferred me to call it The Corve Street Parlour or Ludlow Kitchen Bar, rather the reality of poaching on the crown's estate in the 15th century – but to me it's a real pub name – with a real connection to Ludlow's past. You've only to got investigate the meaning behind The Bull Ring Hotel up the road, and The Bear (now The Olive Branch) to get a true reflection of how different – and indeed how unpleasant in today's terms – a market town as this use to be" he said.

Jon Saxon in the parlour pub

The Dog Hangs Well is only open when the lamp is lit, between the hours of 5pm and 9pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with seating for about 12 in the front parlour, 30 at a push in the kitchen, with the reception of the house also acting as a "drinking lobby'.

"I was little unsure if anyone, was going to turn up when I opened at noon on Christmas Eve – never mind 50 – but by 12.05pm someone walked in and the place was heaving by 1pm and pretty much stayed that way until we closed.

"And it has remained busy ever since."

Sorry, we are not accepting comments on this article.