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

Royal Standard of England, Forty Green


Directions

You want to visit - You have this in

This historic hostelry with its fascinating pedigree is well worth a detour. A barrel shaped wooden partition wall/notice board leads to rooms containing log fires or cast iron stoves. Architecture and furniture is mixed rustic with hops adorning bar areas. The food is of exemplary standard with bottled beers being sourced from craft breweries. Terry Pratchett hailed from the village and Bekonscot Model Village is close to Beaconsfield railway station (two miles). This area is a walkers' paradise.

Historic Interest

Reputed to be the oldest free house in England, with the claim that an inn has stood on this location for over 800 years. First reference to the inn was in 1213 as 'Se Scip' (The Ship). The name was changed to the Royal Standard of England after the restoration of Charles II in 1663, the inn having been a mustering place for Lord Westworth’s Royalists before the Battle of Wycombe Rye in 1642.

The inn was located on an important trade route from Penn and Tylers Green down to the River Thames at Hedsor Wharf (for transporting bricks and tiles).

Information for this venue is provided by the Aylesbury Vale & Wycombe Branch of CAMRA
Previous Names
Local Authority
Buckinghamshire
Last updated
02/03/2025
Last surveyed
08/02/2025
Leasehold owner
unknown
Freehold owner
unknown
Pub ID
AYL/00448
Asset of Community Value

Two star - A pub interior of very special national historic interest

Listed status: Not listed

This is an extraordinary amalgam of nooks and crannies with lots of exposed timber-work but, from our point of view here there is one particularly special feature – a spectacular old settle bulging out into the entrance corridor (which has an old, very worn red tile and brick floor). This settle formed one side of a room with a quarry-tile floor and open fire. The space has suffered from being opened up towards the rest of the pub. In 1963 there was a number of changes including the installation of some quality fittings, including two bar counters, but with the removal of parts of partitions. This has meant that all the various spaces are interlinked apart from a room on the left which does retains its door. The pub website and inn signs make the nonsensical and unverifiable claim that this is the oldest free house in England.

General information about historic pub interiors

Two-storey brick and half-timbered inn which may have parts that date back to Tudor times but has seen many changes over the years. The entry on this inventory is for the room created by a spectacular settle whose back bulges out into the entrance corridor. The original pub consisted of the settle room, corridor, front left room (first part) and rear left room. The remaining parts of the building to either side of the bar were used as store rooms. Now it is an extraordinary amalgam of nooks and crannies and lots of exposed timber-work. In 1963 there was a number of changes including the installation of some quality fittings but with the removal of parts of partitions. This has meant that all the various spaces are interlinked apart from a room at the rear left, which does retains its door.

Left-hand door leads into a corridor with an old, very worn red-tiled floor, the right hand side of the corridor being created by the mighty bulging settle. Just before the settle there is the original door into the settle room. The room has a red tiled floor, an old brick, tile and wood surround fireplace with a log fire, the bay window of this room was added in 1913 – the floor indicates the change – and the old wall benches here and the cabinet, were added at this time. Above the impressive curved settle are old wood panels that reach the ceiling. Sadly, the partition at the rear is lost creating a widish gap into the room.

On the left of the corridor a doorway (gap reduced by the positioning of a high backed settle) leads into a small two-part room with new flagstone-like floor, also with a bay window also added in 1913. This was originally a small saloon bar according to old postcards in a frame on the back of the settle and therefore has been doubled in size by knocking through to another small room in 1963. The snug part at the rear has a brick fireplace with an old fireback now situated above it which does look like 1963 work.

At the rear left is another small low, beamed room with a door and screeded floor – this is another original room (called the Candle Room?). The entrance passageway continues with a red brick floor and leads to a piece of bar counter made of ancient timbers and brick and dating from 1963. Beyond the settle room is an area in front of the servery with a flagstone floor having been moved back to create greater space. The original serving hatch was approximately 4ft from the back of the snug – the bar fittings date from 1963 or later.

On the right is the King Charles Room, a large ‘barn-like’ room with open rafters and nooks and crannies which were brought into use in post-war times – see a newspaper article on the back of the settle which indicates it was in use in the 1950s. Some of the stained glass was procured from the Blitz, however this will soon be relocated to a new dining area. It had an old brick fireplace but this was lost when this room was sympathetically extended to the right in 2017 and modern fireplace added as well as new toilets at the rear right (also lost was three big urinals in both gents). The fielded panelled bar counter dates back to 1963 but the bar-back was replaced much more recently.

For some unaccountable reason the main bar back sports a wooden carving of the Last Supper! Equally unaccountable is their website's imaginative and unverifiable claim to be the oldest free house in England. In 2017-18 the building was being extended to double it existing size to add 12 bedrooms and a new dining area.

General information about historic pub interiors
Premium Access Required

You must be a Digital Subscriber or CAMRA Member to be able to view specially curated GBG descriptions

Premium Access Required
Tuesday
11:00am - 11:00pm
Wednesday
11:00am - 11:00pm
Thursday
11:00am - 11:00pm
Friday
11:00am - 11:00pm
Saturday
11:00am - 11:30pm
Sunday
Noon - 10:00pm
Monday
11:00am - 10:00pm
Tuesday
11:30am - 9:00pm
Wednesday
11:30am - 9:00pm
Thursday
11:30am - 9:00pm
Friday
11:30am - 10:00pm
Saturday
11:30am - 10:00pm
Sunday
Noon - 9:00pm
Monday
11:30am - 9:00pm

Current beers

This Pub serves 1 changing beer and 3 regular beers.

Regular and recently seen
Chiltern - Beechwood Bitter
Chiltern - Beechwood Bitter

Session Bitter

ABV: 4.3%
Vegan: No
Gluten Free: No

This beer is served regularly. Spotted once

Rebellion - IPA
Rebellion - IPA

Session Bitter

ABV: 3.4%
Vegan: No
Gluten Free: No

This beer is served regularly. Spotted twice

Rebellion - Roasted Nuts
Rebellion - Roasted Nuts

Premium Bitter

ABV: 4.6%
Vegan: No
Gluten Free: No

This beer is served regularly.


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
Real Fire Real Fire
Features
Real Ale Real Ale
Real Heritage Pub Real Heritage Pub
LocAle LocAle
Britannia
Quiet Quiet
Transport

Help keep our information accurate!

Notice an error or missing details? Help us keep our pub & club information accurate by sharing any corrections or updates you spot.

Suggest an edit

Nearby

View All
(External, Sign, Key). Published on 06-01-2024
Open
Lion of Beaconsfield
Pub, in Knotty Green
2 Regular Beers
0.7 miles from you
(Pub, External, Key). Published on 09-11-2024
Open
Crown
Crafted Pubs (Greene King) Pub, in Penn
1 Regular, 2 Changing Beers
0.9 miles from you
(Pub, External, Key). Published on 06-01-2024
Closed • Opens at 8:00pm
Beech House
Pub, in Beaconsfield
1 Regular Beer
1.0 miles from you
(Pub, External, Key). Published on 06-01-2024
Open
Bacchus Wine Bar
Pub, in Beaconsfield
REAL ALE not available
1.1 miles from you
(Pub, Key). Published on 03-11-2023
Open
Taps @ Beaconsfield
Independent Pub, in Beaconsfield
2 Changing Beers
1.1 miles from you
(Pub, External, Key). Published on 03-02-2024
Open
Miller & Carter
Harvester (Mitchells & Butlers) Pub, in Holtspur
REAL ALE not available
1.3 miles from you
(External). Published on 11-06-2015
Open
Papermill
Brewers Fayre (Whitbread) Pub, in Loudwater
1 Regular Beer
1.3 miles from you
(External, Sign). Published on 29-07-2023
Open
Red Lion
Pub, in Penn
2 Regular, 1 Changing Beers
1.4 miles from you
(Pub, External, Key). Published on 22-03-2025
Open
Falcon
Pub, in Wooburn Moor
REAL ALE not available
1.5 miles from you
(External). Published on 11-06-2015
Open
Penn & Tylers Green Sports & Social Club
Penn & Tylers Green Sports & Social Club Club, in Penn
REAL ALE not available
1.5 miles from you

Need accommodation?

 

 


Recently Viewed

(Pub, External, Key). Published on 16-08-2017
Fox & Pie
Independent Pub, in Stoke Newington
Permanently Closed
Beacon
Pub, in Nottingham
Permanently Closed
Albion - Openshaw. (Pub, External, Key). Published on 23-09-2007
Albion
Whitbread Pub, in Openshaw
Permanently Closed
Harvester at Lincoln. (Pub, External, Key). Published on 01-01-1970
Open
Harvester
Harvester (Mitchells & Butlers) Pub, in Lincoln
REAL ALE not available
Lord Byron at Middlesbrough. (Pub, External, Key). Published on 01-01-1970
Lord Byron
Pub, in Middlesbrough
Permanently Closed
(Pub, External, Key). Published on 07-05-2021
Open
O'Neill's
O'Neills (Mitchells & Butlers) Pub, in Blackheath
REAL ALE not available
(Pub, External, Key). Published on 07-04-2017
Open
Hop Inn
Pub, in Bournemouth
1 Regular Beer
Nags Head in 2008. (Pub, External). Published on 15-01-2014
Nags Head
Pub, in Stapleton
Beer
Closed Long Term
February 2023. (External, Key). Published on 27-02-2023
Open
Grapes
Pub, in Cambridge
1 Regular, 1 Changing Beers
© Campaign for Real Ale 2023 - 2025 (ce-11)
Home