The Waggon and Horses PH, Church Street

Today and Recent History

Today the future of  The Waggon & Horses is uncertain. It suffered, along with similar pubs, from the Covid restrictions starting in March 2020 and struggled along with temporary management, until it was taken over by Chris Collier in July 2021, who made immediate improvements to a rather tired format and wowed the locals, who responded with wide-spread support of the rejuvenated Waggon! In February 2023 Chris Collier announced that he was moving to the Red Lion at Redhill, Surrey and, whilst he would remain the tenant at the Waggon, it would henceforward be managed on his behalf by Lisa Stuart. However, from March 2023, the owners Admiral Taverns advertised the Waggon and Horses and pub business  as being to let and on 26 April 2023 it was announced that Chris Collier would continue as tenant, although the new manager and licensee was Rheanna Geraghty. A local lady, who at age 18 was the youngest licensee ever at The Waggon & Horses. Despite best endeavours, running the Waggon presented a steep learning curve and in November a new team of four Steeple Morden residents was announced to run the Waggon: Frank Cameron and partner Rebecca Mcstravick plus Karl Lattion and partner Kelly Game, although the latter pair withdrew shortly after from the arrangement. A re-launch of the pub took place on 2 December 2023 and Frank and Becky ran it successfully for the next nine months or so. Chris Collier ended his tenancy in May 2023, whilst at the same time the freehold was up for sale. At the beginning of August 2024 the pub closed, although it did re-open on a restricted basis on limited days for a while, with its future unclear. On 26 September 2024 it was announced that the pub had closed and was awaiting new owners. On 4 November it was announced that Frank Cameron and Rebecca Mcstravick had agreed to lease the pub from the new owners and hoped to re-open on 22 November 2024. They incorporated LMC Taverns Ltd on 11 September 2024, of which they are the directors and joint shareholders.

For fifty years from 1961 the Waggon & Horses had been a traditional tied house owned by the long-established brewers, Greene King. In 2014 as part of a rationalisation of their tied estate Greene King sold the Waggon and Horses to Hawthorn Leisure a new form of public house owner. Hawthorn were in turn acquired by Admiral Taverns in July 2021, after suffering the worst of the impact of Covid restrictions. By November 2021 Admiral and an associate had applied for planning permission to build 4 houses on the land at the rear of the pub. Permission was refused. The associate was REL 2 Ltd a dormant company based in London with a single director and shareholder Ian Allan Newman. It appears REL 2 would have become the developers if the application had been successful. In September 2023 Admiral Taverns marketed the freehold of the Waggon & Horses and its associated land. The pub business was not part of this proposed sale. A provisional sale was agreed in July 2024, although it is not certain if that sale will go through to completion.

Jumping  back to earlier times, the photograph above was taken about 1930 and has The Waggon & Horses on the left and Rose Cottage on the right. In the past, these were two separate dwellings, with different occupiers, although in the same ownership.

The Origins

This site began life as a small farmstead in the centre of the village, which by the 19th Century had developed into a mini-housing estate with a total of ten dwellings.

On the road to the north, was a cottage, which became a beerhouse, eventually known as The Waggon & Horses. That is half of The Waggon & Horses as we know it today. It was probably the original farmhouse. The attached cottage on the south, was known as Rose Cottage or simply The Cottage and was probably built a little later. The Listed Building description appears to consider them as one building, dating to the late 17th Century. Whilst they both originated in that period, they were built at different times and were separate cottages.

The rest of the 19th Century layout consisted of a small tenement behind the Waggon & Horses and this was either demolished or absorbed into Waggon & Horses at some point. Then there were three tenements on north side of yard and a further four tenements on south side of yard, all now demolished. The latter four tenements appear to have been known as Rotten Row.

There was also a substantial barn or two, of which part was leased by the Methodists as a chapel from 1823 to about 1837, when the purpose built Chapel in Cheyney Street was completed.

The Waggon & Horses was a humble beerhouse and was not granted a full licence until March 1958, when it became a proper public house. This was at the time Thomas Rufus Brown was the landlord. The two roadside cottages remained separate until they were combined into one, as an enlarged Waggon & Horses in August 1983. Conversion work began at Christmas 1982 and was completed the following August at a cost of £30,000. The main contractors were M W S, General Builders of St Neots. The tenants were Bob & Jo Neaves, who left the pub shortly afterwards.

More History

The land consisted of 36p for the front plot and behind were two small fields totalling 1a 1r 16p and all was Copyhold of Rectory Manor.

In January 1854 the owner Abraham Pearmain mortgaged the property to Thomas Russell of Litlington and it was described “messuage with curtilage and close belonging and several messuage or cottages erected and built thereon formerly Pearce Janeway and then Henry Theobalds now Abraham Pearmain”. The property was inherited by John Pearmain, son of Abraham. John was the man who built North Brook End House, before going spectacularly bankrupt in 1878, when the Waggon & Horses was sold to Frederick Archdale of Biggleswade, a partner in the brewers Wells & Co, which became Wells & Winch in 1899. Greene King bought Wells & Winch in 1961 and owned the Waggon until selling to Hawthorn Leisure in 2014. In turn, Hawthorn Leisure was acquired by Admiral Taverns in July 2021.

Owners

Occupiers or Licensees

Occupiers of adjoining Rose Cottage

Occupiers of Three Tenements on the North

Occupiers of Four Tenements on the South

Listed Building

Listing details: Grade II since 4 September 1986

Public House. Late C17 with C19 addition. Timber-framed and roughcast rendered. C20 plain tiled roof. Painted brick plinth. End stack to left hand and rectangular planned ridge stack to right hand. Two storeys with additional bay to left hand, and rear outshut. Closed gabled weather-boarded porched entrance with glazed door. Three ground floor casement windows to right hand, and two sixteen-paned hung sash windows at each storey to left hand. Three first floor casement windows.

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Sale by Pearce Janeway in 1842

[This is a copy of the original printed sale particulars, which do not lend themselves to photographic reproduction. It is not a precise transcription as the layout, use of typefaces and capital letters displays a certain extravagance.]

Ten Tenements and an Orchard at Steeple Morden, Cambridgeshire

Will be sold by auction, by Cockett and Nash at The Bell Public House, Steeple Morden

On Friday, the Eleventh day of February 1842 at five o’clock in the evening

In two lots: Particulars

Lot 1
The Residence of Mr Jeneway, having its frontage nearly opposite the Church at Steeple Morden, and containing Living-Room, Wash-House, Dairy, and 2 Bed-Rooms. THE TENEMENT adjoining held by William East, at £3 per annum. FOUR TENEMENTS on the South, severally let at £3 per annum, to Scott, Jarman, Cubis, and Jeneway. The Stable, Barn, and Piggery adjoining. [A well timbered three bay, corn barn – crossed out]. Yard as staked out, and valuable orchard, computed at 1a 2r 0p, well planted with profitable trees.
Copyhold of the Rectory Manor. Apportioned Quit-rent [blank] Land tax 7s The purchaser is to make and maintain the fence next Lot 2.

Lot 2
THE TENEMENT adjoining Lot 1, occupied by James Christmas, at £5 10s per annum, fronting the street, and having a fore garden and well of water. Also THREE TENEMENTS severally let at £3 per annum, to Jarman, Betts, and Webb, and the yard as staked out [Then added in script] including the Hay Barn +6ft at the end & 40ft of ground at the east of same.
Copyhold of the Rectory Manor. Apportioned Quit-rent [blank] Land tax 3s.

Manuscript annotation Lot 1 sold for 310 guineas £325 10s and Lot 2 for 140 guineas £147. Lot 2 apparently bought in as the reserve was £150.

[Note: The conditions of sale have not been copied as they include no reference as to title or other descriptive information]

[Included with the particulars is a rough hand drawn plan showing the location of Lots 1 and 2 and the tenements associated with each, plus the three bay barn that was switched from Lot 1 to 2, apparently at the last minute.]