White Horse, Priors Dean (Pub With No Name)

The two original rooms in this pub are of deliberate rustic design with old furnishings, old counters (with more modern split-log frontages dating from the 1960s), and an inglenook fireplace.  The left hand bar has been unchanged for decades; the right hand bar was converted form a shed in the 1960s.The White Horse is an example of what has been termed 'publican's rustic', a popular form of pub furnishing that first appeared between the wars and uses rough, chunky woodwork; half-timbered effects, rough plasterwork and exposed brick and stone, also consciously rough-hewn furniture - the idea was to create a sense of rural charm and the good old days of yore. This deliberate exercise in nostalgia is enhanced by the dark, discoloured surfaces that look as though they ought to be the subject to a preservation order!

The pub originally consisted of the left hand bar which is barely altered in years with a large stone fireplace, now with a modern log burner, and old furniture including a small settle. The bar counter itself does look old but with a mighty split log frontage added in 1962/3. On the wall are two copper-framed pictures with a title in raised lettering entitled “Preparing For A Heavy Stage” and "A Summer Incident" showing the supposedly glorious days of coaching. Note the brick inglenook fireplace behind the servery indicating this area was converted from other uses, possibly in the inter-war period. The bar back fitting looks like it is modern rather than old work and there is a small separate low fitting added in recent times.

The right hand quarry tiled floor bar looks like it has been there for many years but prior to 1962 it was a shed (the lower area) and a small (higher) area that linked them. The counter with its split log frontage and copper top was added in 1962/3; the brick fireplace looks like 1930s work; some furniture is of great age such as a bench dated 1769 but likely to have come from elsewhere; and there are more of the copper-framed pictures - “Behind Time" and “A Fresh Team”.

The pub has been greatly expanded since being taken over by Gales Brewery in the 1990s with a dining room in an extension at the rear which has a brick fireplace with log fire.