Historic Pubs: The Old Black Bear, Tewkesbury

During a weekend trip to Tewkesbury I decided to seek out its oldest pub, and at the end of the High Street we found it: The Olde Black Bear. 


As you approach from the High Street, it looks small but you see the true size of the place if you peek around the corner once you get past the wooden door. Like many of Tewkesbury's pubs on this side of the road it has a narrow frontage and then a long interior which comes out in a beer garden at the river behind. 


The Black Bear is said to date to at least 1308, but Historic England has stated that because of its position, it might even date to an earlier period. It's a beautiful building with later medieval and seventeenth century additions, exposed timbers and fireplaces. You really get a feel for it as an old inn, with its many smaller rooms nestled opposite the bar. There's also a larger seating area near the kitchen, which opens out to the garden and terrace.


One of the signs inside mentioned a haunting - an old lady in black, who sits at one of the tables in a corner. When pubgoers approach her to offer to buy her a drink, she disappears. Another haunting is said to be a soldier in medieval clothing, locally believed to have been a Lancastrian soldier from the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. 

The pub was a lovely place to stop for lunch after an afternoon sightseeing in Tewkesbury. We found it friendly and relaxed, although it took us a while to get served at the bar (it was a Six Nations weekend though!) - but amazing for me as a history nerd to enjoy lunch in such a historic building. I love to imagine all the dodgy deals, romances and celebrations that have taken place in old pubs over the centuries. The grill at the back of the pub is very good too. After we'd left and gone back to our hotel, tales of The Old Bear followed. One of the staff at the hotel told us that, legend has it, there is a medieval tunnel leading from the Bear to Tewkesbury Abbey. A friendly, calm, and very historic old pub in Tewkesbury High Street. Give it a look if you find yourself nearby. 

You might also like The Women of Warwick Castle, The Queens of the Wars of the Roses and Finding the Ancient Pubs of Reading, Berkshire.

The Black Bear stood during one of the most defining moments of the Wars of the Roses - the Lancastrian's Last Stand at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471. My book, Forgotten Women of the Wars of the Roses, published by Pen and Sword, explores the 'lost' women of the confict. Find out how they conspired, planned and shaped the Wars of the Roses. Order your copy here. 



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Notes and sources:
Visit, March 2025
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1207382?section=official-list-entry
https://heritagecalling.com/2017/10/24/licence-to-chill-11-of-englands-most-haunted-pubs/

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