Pubs & Clubs
Beers & Breweries
Pubs & Clubs
Beers & Breweries
Join Us

Swan, Clare

You want to visit - You have this in
4 High St, Clare, CO10 8NY (View on Google Map)
No website available

Historic inn with an old carved sign (possibly dating from 1415) which may be the oldest in England. Bar to right with inglenook fireplace is now a restaurant. Bar is to the left with beamed ceiling. Mix of seating: bar stools, wooden tables & chairs, comfy armchairs and a choir pew in the fireplace. Achieved Cask Marque status June 2017.

Historic Interest

This building was probably built around 1600, an earlier will of 1498 said John Norfolk bequeathed to his son 'a house (sometimes misread as 'alehouse') now called Le Swan but of old called Quylters'. The house goes back still further for there is a reference to Quylters (described as 'a tenement') in a Court Roll of 1361. Another record goes back even earlier, showing one owner died 'tempore pestilence,' (i.e. from the Black Death) in 1349. The public rooms are of around the year 1600, & the interior has exposed framing, beams & joists - an impressive array easily seen by stepping inside, where many other interesting artefacts from earlier centuries will be found. What is now used as an inn sign, possibly the oldest inn sign in England, is a carved solid block of oak about three metres long. It may have been used in connection with the earlier inn, but the arms & richness of the carving suggest its actual origin was more impressive. It seems likely that it started off as the base of an oriel window at the castle, made in the reign of Henry IV in the earlier part of the 15th cent. It was covered with plaster for a long time, & was only revealed around 1800, since when it has been repainted from time to time. The central figure is a chained swan with a crown around its neck, which was the badge of Henry IV. The coat of arms on the south end (left as we face the sign) are the Royal Arms of England incorporating the fleurs de lys of France in a form which first appeared around 1376. The arms on the north (our right) combine the Mortimers' & the de Burghs' arms, so indicate a member of the Mortimer/de Burgh family, a union which had come about when Edmund Mortimer married Philippa, daughter of Elizabeth de Burgh & Lionel Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence. The star in a crescent moon has often been used as a royal symbol. There is also an oak tree with two suns, & a grapevine which may link with Clare's past fame as a wine producing area. It is suggested that the sign may relate to the marriage in 1406 of Richard of Conisbrough, Earl of Cambridge (who was of royal descent) & Anne Mortimer but was actually made a few years later. The present inn front is 19c or early 20c. A report in the Ipswich Journal*** on 07 Dec in 1853 states that : On 30 Nov 1853, died, aged 57, Mary Ann, widow of the late Mr Edward STOWE, formerly of the Swan, Clare. A report in the Bury & Norwich Post** on Jul-03 in 1883 when Mr Pryke was the landlord states that : "Mr Pryke purchased the growing crop of grass, on Priory Moors approximately 7 acres, for £15 10s at an auction held at the Half Moon Hotel." A report in the Bury & Norwich Post** on Aug-10 in 1893 states that the pub was purchased by Mr J Andrews for £440. Photographs of this pub and more historical information about it can be found at suffolk.camra.org.uk/pub/205

Information for this venue is provided by the West Suffolk & Borders Branch of CAMRA
Previous Names
Local Authority
West Suffolk District
Last updated
29/06/2023
Last surveyed
16/06/2017
Pub ID
WSB/205
Asset of Community Value
Seen some incorrect or missing details? let us know.
Monday
11:00am - 9:00pm
Tuesday
11:00am - 9:00pm
Wednesday
11:00am - 9:00pm
Thursday
11:00am - 9:00pm
Friday
11:00am - 9:00pm
Saturday
11:00am - 9:00pm
Sunday
11:00am - 8:00pm
Monday
Noon - 2:30pm & 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Tuesday
Noon - 2:30pm & 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Wednesday
Noon - 2:30pm & 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Thursday
Noon - 2:30pm & 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Friday
Noon - 2:30pm & 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Saturday
Noon - 8:00pm
Sunday
Noon - 3:00pm
Spotted an error with the opening times? Let us know

Current beers

This Pub serves 2 changing beers and 1 regular beer.

Regular and recently seen

Swan, Clare

Add it to our list and share what's currently being served!.
Are you a CAMRA member? Contribute by submitting a beer score
Spot a Beer
Submit beer score
Do you know what Regular beers or changing beers this Pub serves? Let us know
Your scores
Join CAMRA to access beer scoring and view scores for other pubs.
Become a member.
Retrieving scores
You have no beer scores submitted.

Facilities
Lunchtime Meals Lunchtime Meals
Evening Meals Evening Meals
Garden Garden
Parking Parking
Accommodation Accommodation
Games Games
Real Fire Real Fire
Separate Bar Separate Bar
Features
Real Ale Real Ale
Cask Marque Cask Marque
Transport
Close to bus routes
Big Green Bus Co: 18; Chambers: 236, 374
Are these pub facilities or features correct? Let us know

Nearby

(Pub, Key). Published on 12-08-2014
You have visited this venue
View all visits
Cock
Pub
Real Ale Available
3 Callis St, Clare, CO10 8PX
You want to visit - You have this in one of your trips
0.2 miles
(Pub, External, Key). Published on 30-03-2014
You have visited this venue
View all visits
Globe
Pub
Real Ale Available
10 Callis St, Clare, CO10 8PX
You want to visit - You have this in one of your trips
0.2 miles
(Pub, Brewery, Key). Published on 09-10-2021
You have visited this venue
View all visits
Roughacre Taproom
Pub
Real Ale Available
Clare Hall Barns, Cavendish Road, Clare, CO10 8PJ
You want to visit - You have this in one of your trips
0.4 miles
You have visited this venue
View all visits
Clare Park Lake Club & Golf Course
Club
Stoke Road, Clare, CO10 8HE
You want to visit - You have this in one of your trips
0.6 miles
(Pub, Key). Published on 03-08-2014
You have visited this venue
View all visits
Lion
Pub
Real Ale Available
The St, Stoke by Clare, CO10 8HP
You want to visit - You have this in one of your trips
2.1 miles
(Pub, Key). Published on 16-11-2014
You have visited this venue
View all visits
Five Bells
Pub
Real Ale Available
The Green, Cavendish, CO10 8BA
You want to visit - You have this in one of your trips
2.3 miles
(Pub, External, Key). Published on 08-02-2016
You have visited this venue
View all visits
Half Moon
Pub
Real Ale Available
Cole Green, Belchamp St.Paul, CO10 7DP
You want to visit - You have this in one of your trips
2.3 miles
(Pub, Key). Published on 16-11-2014
You have visited this venue
View all visits
George
Pub
Real Ale Available
The Green, Cavendish, CO10 8BA
You want to visit - You have this in one of your trips
2.4 miles
(Pub, Key). Published on 16-11-2014
You have visited this venue
View all visits
Bull
Pub
Real Ale Available
High St, Cavendish, CO10 8AX
You want to visit - You have this in one of your trips
2.5 miles
(Pub, Key). Published on 23-08-2016
You have visited this venue
View all visits
Rose & Crown
Pub
Real Ale Available
20 North St, Hundon, CO10 8ED
You want to visit - You have this in one of your trips
2.9 miles

Need accommodation?

 

 

Home
© Campaign for Real Ale 2023 - 2024 (ce-11)