The Horse & Jockey is a historic

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

Wrexham city centre Wrexham city centre is the administrative, cultural and historic city centre of Wrexham, in North Wales and is the area enclosed by the inner ring road of the city. It is the largest shopping area in north and mid Wales, and the administrative c ...

, North Wales, known for its 16th century

thatched roof Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge ('' Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

. The

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

listed building is the only surviving

ed property in Wrexham. It was originally a 16th-century

hall house The hall house is a type of vernacular house traditional in many parts of England, Wales, Ireland and lowland Scotland, as well as northern Europe, during the Middle Ages, centring on a hall. Usually timber-framed, some high status examples wer ...

, until it was later split into three

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager had to provide ...

s, one becoming a

beerhouse __NOTOC__ A beerhouse was a type of public house created in the United Kingdom by the Beerhouse Act 1830 ( 11 Geo. 4 & 1 Will. 4. c. 64), legally defined as a place "where beer is sold to be consumed ''on'' the premises". They were also known as "s ...

— ''The Colliers'' — and another a private

guest house A guest house (or guesthouse, also rest house) is a kind of lodging. In some parts of the world (such as the Caribbean), a guest house is a type of inexpensive hotel-like lodging. In others, it is a private home that has been converted for the e ...

, until they were merged into one pub in 1868. It is posthumously named in respect for Fred Archer, a

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

-born jockey who rode at nearby Bangor-on-Dee racecourse. The pub's sign is based on a painting of Archer.

Description

The building had undergone multiple modifications for various different uses over centuries, glimpses of the original timber-frame construction of the building can still be viewed from the inside. The building is largely brick, with surviving timber-framing, such as rear wall timber studs and on the southeast wall. It has a

, the only one left in Wrexham, while its

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

faces Hope Street and its doorway on an angle between Hope Street and Priory Street.

History

The building possibly dates to the 16th century as a

, a type of residence centred on a large room but contains no ceiling. The building may have been built with the intention for it to be a

dwelling In law, a dwelling (also known as a residence, abode or domicile) is a self-contained unit of accommodation – such as a house, apartment, mobile home, houseboat, recreational vehicle, or other "substantial" structure – used as a home by ...

, and the hall house was composed of three units, a two-bay hall and storeyed end-bays. In the 17th century, the building was extended south-westwards and sub-divided into three cottages. One of the cottages nearest to Hope Street was a private house, sometimes used as a guest house, while the cottage nearest to Priory Street (furthest away from Hope Street) was a

known as "The Colliers" (or "Colliers Arms"). In 1868, the buildings were said to have combined into a single pub, although the building is also said to have been "an

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

for at least two hundred years". It is also "uncertain" when exactly the merger occurred, and whether as a pub as it was described as a "cottage" in 1893 by

Alfred Neobard Palmer Alfred Neobard Palmer (10 July 1847 – 7 March 1915) was a chemist and local historian. He published several books concerning the local history of Wrexham and north Wales. Biography Alfred Neobard Palmer was born in Thetford, Norfolk, England ...

. Part of it was also a cobbler's shop. When used as a public house, it was heavily remodelled in various successive iterations, with only fragments of the building's original form remaining. The pub was renamed, in the late 19th century, as the "Horse and Jockey" following the death of Fred Archer (died 1886), a

-born jockey who had ridden at the nearby Bangor-on-Dee racecourse. The picture on the pub's sign was painted in 1938, copying an original painting of Archer. In 1938, the pub was sold by Beirne's Brewery to

Wrexham Lager Wrexham Lager is a lager brewed in Wrexham, North East Wales, north-east Wales, tracing its heritage to 1881. After the original brewery's closure in 2000, the brand was revived by the Roberts family in 2011 using an older recipe. In 1881 ...

, which repaired the building to prevent its collapse, with the company obtaining a permit in 1939, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, to protect the pub's thatched roof. There are claims there is a ghost known as "George" present in the pub, with the landlord in 2013 claiming a spirit had once saved a cleaner from topping off a chair by grabbing hold of her leg while she was standing. In September 2004, the building and its thatched roof narrowly avoided being caught on fire, as the neighbouring building, a furniture store, did. The pub was not seriously damaged as a result of the neighbouring fire. As of 2024, it is owned by Star Pubs and Bars. In April 2024, the owners reported that the pub, which closed in February 2024, would remain closed until June 2024 as they look for a new

licensee A licensee can mean the holder of a license or, in U.S. tort law, is a person who is on the property of another, despite the fact that the property is not open to the general public, because the owner of the property has allowed the licensee to en ...

. It reopened in September 2024 following a refurbishment.

Description

History

References

Further reading