The Hollybush in Redbourn

Monday 20th June - 2022

Hello everyone from ancient Redbourn, in Hertfordshire, my home base for 3-months.

Have l got a story for you this afternoon. How often do you go out on a Sunday afternoon for a pint of larger & a roast lamb meal with veggies in a traditional 16th Century Country Pub that has been around since the early 1400s? That’s right... if you can believe it.

This afternoon I called into the local pub, ‘The Hollybush’ (photo below) when l walked into this lovely old pub l knew that l was walking back in history & here is my reason why.

Before I’ll ordered my baked dinner & a pint of Carlsberg lager, I needed to go to the little boys room to make room for more, if you know what I mean. 

As l attempted to enter the WC I took one look at the door & said to myself if l don’t duck down here l am going to belt my head on the door jam & that means blood, the height was no taller than 5ft high. (photo below) & read the notice above the door jam.

The height of the human race hundreds of years ago was so much smaller than todays race, that is why the door heights were built so much smaller.

I immediately went out to the bar & asked the bar man how old this pub is. He told me that ‘The Hollybush’ pub was built in the 1400s. Get your head around that if you can.

That pub has been serving customers more than 350-years before Captain Cook discovered Australia in 1770, l find it hard to believe for a “Trolly-Dolly” from the insular peninsular that had a protected child hood.

Once I recovered from that shock, l decided to order my Sunday Roast Lamb with the full Monty, Yorkshire pudding, chipolata sausage, Sage & onion stuffing, a minimum of three freshly cooked vegetables plus roasted parsnip and lashings of gravy… are you hungry yet? All washed down with a couple of pints of Carlsberg.

Needless to say I actually rolled out of that 650-year old pub as l am sure many other patrons have done so over many hundreds of years.

You may think that a pub meal in good old Sydney is expensive, well l am here to tell you it ain’t.

* Roast Lamb with all the trimmings. 15 pounds = AUD $26.50
* Dessert. 8 pounds = AUD $14.00
* 1 pint of Carlsberg beer. 7 pounds = AUD $12.50

Total in AUDs $53.00

Thank heavens that I am doing this trip on the cheap, can you imagine if l was traveling with a handbrake & a couple of nippers.

l couldn’t help myself & decided that yes, l am on holidays so l also decided to order a dessert. Homemade Apple Crumble, served with cream, ice cream & custard. (photo below). 

Ken’s “Magical Mystery Tour” continues tomorrow.

I am going to visit St. Mary’s church here in Redbourn, that was built in 1110, so you will have to wait until l put pen to paper to find out all about that little number.

That’s all she wrote for the time being.

Stay safe. Cheers from the ‘Squire from the Shire’.

Warbo