The claim
Owned by the National Trust since Lola Taplin bequeathed it in 1977, the Fleece is a medieval longhouse that became a pub only in 1848. Its flagstoned rooms still hold pewter, settles and chalked witch circles on the hearth. Restored after a fire in 2004, it hosts an asparagus festival and morris sides.
What the records show
The half-timbered longhouse is documented as early 15th century, but it was a farmhouse and was first licensed in 1848. Its age as a building is sound; its history as a pub is Victorian. The 1848 belongs to the National Trust, which has the inn in its care and states on its page for the house that the inn was first licensed in that year. Wikipedia says the building has been a pub since 1848 and cites the same Trust page for it, so the two accounts are one publisher rather than two, and nothing traced names the licence itself.
| Year | What | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1400 | Claimed founding | The pub |
| 1848 | First record of a drinking house here | The National Trust, on the inn's first licence in 1848 |
What to look for inside
- Owned by the National Trust
- Apotropaic witch marks preserved by the hearths
- Hosts the Vale of Evesham asparagus festivities
Visiting
The Fleece Inn is in Bretforton, England, at Bretforton, Evesham, Worcestershire. We do not list opening times, because they change; the pub’s own site is the place to check before you set out.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleece_Inn
- www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/worcestershire-herefordshire/the-fleece-inn
- camra.org.uk/pubs/fleece-inn-bretforton-153816
- ratings.food.gov.uk/business/685847
- historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1081605
Know something we don’t?Suggest a correctionLast checked Sept 2026
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