TRENDING NEWS
Back to news
09 May, 2025
Share:
Inside one of UK's smallest pubs - in the front room of a Midland house
@Source: birminghammail.co.uk
Thousands of pounds have been invested by a couple to transform their home's front room into a tiny pub, which they claim is "the very definition of a public house". Hazel and Andrew Smith purchased the 4-bedroom property in Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire , for £385,000 in 2022. £50,000 was spent over six months converting their front room into a compact 3.5m x 4.2m taproom with a 20-person capacity. Read more: First picture of 84mph BMW driver who killed mum and daughter Hazel, 53, left her job and sold their previous home in Tewksbury, Gloucestershire, to focus on running their high street micro-pub, J Maverick & Co.. This tiny pub sells craft beers and ciders from independent breweries and is often full. Locals, tourists, festival-goers, and the local rugby club pack into the pub, which has just one table for six and a window seat. Hazel said: "We bought this house knowing that we could make a beautiful tap room. "I think the charm of the place is that it is so small, it encourages conversation and is the very definition of a public house.As there's only one table people talk to each other and nobody really sits on their phones. "It has a capacity of about 20 people - there's only room for one table of six and a window seat. "The place has a fantastic tourist trade, with great locals and a music scene, the town is such a vibrant place and that's why we wanted to do it here. "We get everything from regulars, to tourists to the local rugby club coming here. It is genuinely like having people into your house. "We haven't got a big commute to work either." Hazel, who previously worked in the travel industry, said she had always dreamed of opening her own business and saw the historic house as the perfect opportunity. She added: "It was a residential house beforehand, which was let out to tourists and is a very historic place dating back to 1780. "It is known as Lavender's House. Lavender Beard was a popular member of the community and founded a museum here. "I worked for a corporate travel company and at 53 I just asked myself what I really wanted to do for the rest of my working life - and it wasn't negotiating deals with Air France. "We just wanted a beautiful little house along a beautiful high street and now we have just that. "We have four bedrooms, two of which we rent out, and a living room and a kitchen/diner but the front of the house is devoted entirely to being a pub. "It cost us about £50,000 but we got a rural development loan from the council which helped. "With applying for change of use, planning permission and licensing it probably took us six months all in all. "We have six taps - four kegs and two casks - as well as around 1,000 cans in the fridge, which is converted from a Victorian bookshelf. "We mainly use local breweries in Gloucester, Bewdley, Tenbury Wells and the Wye Valley. We also have Jeremy Clarkson's cider here, Hawkstone Cider. "Bewdley Brewery did us our own ale for the last festival which was called Fiddler's Dog. "We have a big cellar too, which you need to keep everything at the right temperature. "Its decorated like an old Victorian pub, a lot of real-ale places are very industrial, but that wasn't befitting of such a historic house". "Our grandson's middle name is Maverick, so it is named after him - who knows one day he might inherit it." Andrew, who also manages a courier firm, mentioned: "We keep being told we're definitely the smallest in the Midlands or the smallest in Worcestershire. "I think there may be a smaller one up north in a phone box - but we must be among the smallest in the country as its essentially just our front room." Local patron Michael Dalglish, 55, praised the new watering hole on the high street. Expressing his admiration, he said: "The ales are great, the owners are great - it's a charming little place and I hope they are here for years to come." He also mused: "I can't imagine there's many pubs in the UK smaller than this. It's a bit of a squeeze but it adds to its appeal."
For advertisement: 510-931-9107
Copyright © 2025 Usfijitimes. All Rights Reserved.