Parish records tell us that this inn was formerly known as The Coach & Horses. An entry in the burials for November 1696 is our earliest reference and mentions that a Welsh drover died on the premises and that the name of the landlord was Parsons. Another entry, for December 1708, states that a travelling man, who went about with a "poppit" show, died at the sign of The Coach & Horses; the landlord was James Barnet. Exactly when its name changed is unknown, but certainly by 1848 it was known as The Waggon & Horses when Edward Dickens was landlord as specified in Kelly's Directory.
The table below shows the earliest dates we have for each of the landlords occupying the premises.
| Parsons |
1696 |
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William Wright |
1861 |
| James Barnet |
1708 |
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Samuel Lewis |
1874 |
| Thomas Burnaby |
1815 |
|
Lydia Lewis |
1898 |
| Edward Dickens |
1841 |
|
Henry Coleman |
1903 |
| John Wright |
1854 |
|
Cecil Buckby |
1940 |
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The Waggon & Horses Darts Team enjoyed considerable success immediately post World War II and in 1946 became the outright winners of the Town Darts League Championship Cup.
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Waggon & Horses Darts Team - 1946
Standing: Jack ODell, Herbert Wright, Alf Keach, Arthur Buckby, Cyril Craddock, ?
Charlie Sharp.
Seated: Reg (Huffy) Northern, P E Pateman, Cecil Buckby (landlord),
Ernie Townsend, Ray Howard.
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Waggon & horses Darts Team - 1950s
Standing: Joe Johnson, Herbert Desborough,
George Wright, Charlie Wittering.
Seated: Cecil Buckby (landlord), Alf Wittering,
Charlie Johnson, Oliver Love.
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Waggon & Horses Skittle team - 1950s
Standing: Ted Dicks, Ralph Felce, Ray Chester,
Bert Turner.
Seated: Will Hume, Cecil Buckby, Charlie Wittering,
Alf Crisp, Dot Johnson.
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The premises to the right of the inn, just visible in the old photograph below, is now a car sales lot. It used to be a double-fronted labourer's house tied to Redlands Farm but was demolished in the mid 1960s. It was mentioned in the 1941-43 National Farm Survey together with its then occupant S J Dunmore; for more details, please click here.
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The labourer's house was just to the right of the inn.
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Recent photograph with car sales lot to the right.
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In 1990 the inn was the target of an unidentified and apparently indiscriminate sniper, but fortunately no-one was seriously harmed in the attack. To read a newspaper report of the incident, please click here.
The Waggon & Horses was put up for auction in 1976 and sold as a going concern, but at the present time it is unoccupied. Click on the following links to read about its auction details (1976) and demise in 2007.
A new name and a new lease of life in 2008
(report from The Evening Telegraph dated November 2008)
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At Your Service
Bob Quittenton outside his new pub.
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A former hotelier who came to visit friends in Burton Latimer has rescued one of the area's oldest pubs. Bob Quittenton, who used to run a hotel in Blackpool, saw the former Waggon and Horses pub was up for sale. Mr Quittenton had never owned a pub but decided to move to the area to try something new at the venue, which had been empty for 18 months.
A telephone bid at auction secured the sale following fears that the 17th century pub would either be converted into a home or demolished after being empty for so long. It has re-opened as Latimer's Family Bar following a major refurbishment, with the hope of offering something different.
Mr Quittenton said: "It looks totally different inside. We had to rip the inside out because we had woodworm, damp, rot - you name it. It's now a bit more upmarket and classy. Children are welcome until 9pm. It's somewhere for families to come and while the children play, parents can have a drink and relax. The Waggon and Horses had quite a good reputation so it would have been a shame to see it knocked down."
Mr Quittenton said although business had been a little slow, he hopes to be able to start serving food soon. Some of the items he has planned include an open mic session, pool night, quiz night, karaoke and discos. He said: "We are open to suggestions and are trying to find out what our customers want. We are aiming it at families and I don't think there is anything like this in the area."
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