The Royal Oak, Eccleshall

Eccleshall is a beautiful small town between Market Drayton and Stone. When Joule’s Brewery was originally brewing in Stone in the 1900’s, Eccleshall boasted 8 pubs, 5 of which were Joule’s houses, including the very fine Crown next door to the Royal Oak, now a Doctors surgery. The Royal Oak is a quintessential coaching inn of this period which provided substantial stabling and accommodation for travellers.

Its story dates back even further than the coaching inn era, the origins of the building can be seen in the attics; the central chimney may even pre-date the ancient timbers. The attics, long abandoned reveal a set of small eerie servants rooms with no natural light. With lath and lime plaster and small oak framed door openings, these rooms evidence an ancient building and suggest the Royal Oak was a substantial inn well before the old toll roads.

The Inn’s name also suggests royalist loyalty at the time of the English civil war which explains the rumour of a tunnel leading from the cellars to Gaol Butts nearby. The cellars are certainly ancient; old stone and arched and do reveal an intriguing closed passage. The coaching era heralded a major change of the Oak, in the early 1800’s the arches would have been added and the attics abandoned in favour of extensions to the pub including the coaching stables and the fine assembly rooms. In Victorian times, the inn was radically changed again, staircases and internal toilets added and rooms amalgamated and the introduction of a bar servery. Before this it is likely the inn would not have had a servery – just ale in jugs poured straight from the cask in the cellar.

The Brewery is very proud of this statusful inn. Look out for the beautiful stained-glass windows depicting the old public houses of Eccleshall, the Beehive, the Crown, the Railway, the Kings Head and of course the Royal Oak. A major commission to celebrate Joule’s returning to Eccleshall in 2012, a new chapter for a true historical inn.

You are spoilt for a spot to settle when visiting the Oak, the lovely public bar adorned with stained glass, leather seating and an open fire, and if that’s not quite right, tucked into the heart of the pub is the historic ‘Farmers Bar’, a perfect hide away. If you’re peckish there is a smart spacious dining area, lined with twinkling stained glass and a variety of antique tables and chairs.

Upstairs there’s a great meeting room, spot on for committee meetings, societies and business meetings. To round it all off the Royal Oak also has a large function room, complete with staging, projector screen and bar, perfect for larger gatherings, parties, celebrations, even weddings…

There is a Beer garden and Covered yard with ample seating, a lovely sun trap in the summer and for the winter months heaters have been installed for you to keep cosy and warm.

Always on Tap, Joule’s Pale Ale, Slumbering Monk, Pure Blonde and our english craft lager Green Monkey, alongside our rotating seasonal ale and cold craft beer. All brewed in Market Drayton with pure Shropshire mineral water.

Don’t miss the great food available throughout the week and beer festivals hosted annually.