Three Horse Shoes, Caulcott

Three Horse Shoes Public House: Bedford Road, Caulcott, Marston Moretaine 

Extract from 2nd edition Ordnance Survey map, 1901 

In 1827 an inventory of the property of John and Joseph Morris, brewers, lists the Three Horse Shoes as a freehold public house, occupied by Robert Hardwick, with a good garden and stable opposite (reference Z1043/1). A mortgage for brewery property dated 1831 describes the Three Horse Shoes as a cottage, small garden, outbuildings and premises, with a stable, wood barn and garden (reference WB/M/4/1/VP1).  

Under the terms of the Rating and Valuation Act 1925 every piece of land and building in the country was assessed to determine the rates to be paid on them. When Marston Moretaine was assessed in 1927 it was owned by Charles Wells Ltd, who had taken over Morris & Co Brewery in 1926, and the tenant was William Marton [reference DV2/C77/104]. It was described as a brick, tile and thatch property with a tap room, kitchen, living room and cellar downstairs and three bedrooms upstairs. Outside were a stable, two barns, a wood shed and a store. Sales amounted to 18 gallons of beer and 9 gallons of bitter a week, and ½ gallon of spirits a month. The rent was £22 per annum.  

The Three Horse Shoes closed for good in 1928 and the license was removed and transferred to the Rose & Crown next door. The valuation record for the premises was updated to show the change of use, but the valuer noted that it was “inconveniently arranged as a private dwelling”. The outbuildings were also transferred to the Rose & Crown and one room of the former Three Horse Shoes was used for a time as a butcher’s shop.  

Licensees:  note that this is not a complete list and that dates in italics are not necessarily beginning or end dates, merely the first/last date which can be confirmed from sources such as directories and deeds: 

1827-1831: Robert Hardwicke 

1862-83: William Saunders 

1895: George Giggles 

1907-1910: Alice Whittemore 

1926-1927: William Martin 

1928: Talbot Jarvis (license removed) 

References: 

• SF38/46: inventory for William Saunders, 1883; 

• SF38/70: sale of contents by outgoing tenant, 1895; 

• WB/M/4/1/VP1: mortgage of property of Morris Brewery, 1831 (with later endorsements to 1907); 

• WB/M/4/1/VP2: mortgage of property of Morris Brewery, 1882; 

• WB/M/4/1/VP8: Abstract of Title of Morris & Company (Ampthill) Limited, 1926; 

• WB/M/4/2/1-2: Lists of Morris & Company properties with information about trade, licensing, leases etc., 1926 

• Z1043/1: Inventory of Morris Brewery, 1827