Friday 12th February 2016

Bob Thompson

The original Fighting Cocks was the oldest inn in Oakengates. It was wood-framed and had a thatched roof. It was built in 1656 according to the outside of the building. Unfortunately it was destroyed by fire on Wednesday 6th November 1883 along with adjacent two shops.

The fire started at the inn and was first noticed around 04.00 in the morning. As the fire appliance had to come from Wellington it arrived too late to save the pub and the brigade spent their time preventing it from spreading further.

It must have been a rural backwater when the pub was built as it wasn’t until 1725 that Market Street was adopted as part of a turnpike road to Shrewsbury.

Even the date of 1656 may not be the earliest date of an inn on the site as I have seen it written that it was mentioned as being in existence as far back as the 15th Century.

The pub received its first official licence in the middle part of the nineteenth century.

I have tried in vain to see if it was owned by a brewery after it was rebuilt and reopened in 1884, but to no avail. What we do know is that when it was closed down and boarded up in 2008 it was a free house.

However it could have become one during the previous twenty years or so, as the pub companies created by the Beer Orders divested themselves of many houses. Yet, there’s just a chance that it was always a free house.

Just to prove a point about Pubcos, it was breweries that were the saviour of the Old Fighting Cocks. To the rescue came Everard’s of Narborough near Leicester and Dave Goldingay of the small Ironbridge Brewery, in the town of the same name. Under its Project William scheme, Everard’s bought the pub in 2012 and Dave set about restoring it to serve thirsty customers again, reopening on 15th March 2013.

The Ironbridge Brewery was founded in 2007 in an old iron foundry appropriately located almost under the world’s first iron bridge. It crosses the River Severn and opened on New Year’s Day 1781. It is now a magnet for tourism and the Blist’s Hill industrial museum is close by, another celebration of the iron and coal industry of the area which is sometimes called “the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution”.

However the brewery needed a pub to provide it with a reliable outlet for its beers. So, with the help of Everard’s the Old Fighting Cocks became the brewery’s first pub.

Yet, things do change, in this case for the better, and Dave acquired a second pub, the Pheasant in Wellington (see separate article in BeerVisits). This was also achieved with the help of Everard’s.

At the rear of the Pheasant was an outhouse that hadn’t been used for over a year. This was crucial as it qualified for a Redundant Buildings Grant from the Local Enterprise Partnership. That’s a joint effort from local councils and businesses where a grant is given to resuscitate a building that has been out of use for twelve months.

This enabled Dave to re-locate the brewery equipment from Ironbridge to Wellington. He couldn’t have afforded to do it otherwise.

So, here we are, myself, Linda, Russell and Steve about to enter the pub and I looked up at the painted fascia thinking that we were about to drink beer from another brewery as it was still signed for the Ironbridge Brewery. Of course, this was now the Wrekin Brewery from the plant at the back of the Pheasant in Wellington and I’d just come from there; stupid!

The pub was busy that evening, at least in the front bar so we went around to the more tranquil back bar where we found a high table that suited the four of us. The bar counter is nice polished oak and the furniture is of the standard pub variety.

Once seated I noticed there were further rooms at the rear of the pub. The first one was quite small but boasted a comfy-looking leather armchair. The other was reached via a small corridor and was bigger. Both looked comfortable and had wooden waist-high panelling.

The beer range was quite extensive with the following being offered: Everard’s (Narborough, Leicestershire) Tiger (4.2%); Wrekin (The Pheasant, Wellington) Ironbridge Gold (4.4%). These are regulars, the following are guests: Mallinson’s (Huddersfield, West Yorkshire) Kiwi Classic (4.4%); Purple Moose (Porthmadoc, North Wales) Ysgawen (4.0%); Dark Star (Partridge Green, West Sussex) American Pale Ale (4.7%).

There were even more guest beers: Hop Back (Downton, Wiltshire) Crop Circle (4.2%); Leighton Buzzard Brewery (Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire) Black Buzzard (5.8%) and Red Willow (Macclesfield, Cheshire) Mirthless (3.9%). They also served Bottle Kicking Cider Co (Hallaton, Leicestershire) Scrambler Cider (7.0%).

The pub does not serve food but you are welcome to bring you own. Several local takeaways deliver direct to the pub. Plates and cutlery will be provided. There is an open mic night on Wednesday. However the most notable feature of the pub is that upstairs there is a 32-seat cinema, the Oakengates Picture House. Football and Rugby games are also shown. And of course, you can take your pint in!

So, there are many reasons to visit the Old Fighting Cocks, especially as there are two CAMRA Good Beer Guide pubs within thirty metres of the front door.

Important Information:

The Old Fighting Cocks, 48 Market Street, Oakengates TF2 6DU. Tel: 01952 615607

Hours: Monday-Sunday 12.00-23.00

The Old Fighting Cocks is less than ten minutes from Oakengates railway station.
This has trains running from Birmingham to Shrewsbury via Wolverhampton.
They are every hour Monday to Saturday and are provided by London Midland.
On Sunday the frequency is every two hours and they are provided by Arriva Trains Wales.

Oakengates Bus Station is a few minutes away by foot.
It is served by routes 4, 5, 5A, 7, 14 and 15 to various other parts of Telford.