The Mug House is a traditional

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

located in the village of

Claines Claines is a small village just to the north of Worcester, England, on the east bank of the River Severn. Claines is situated in the heart of Worcestershire on the A449 between Worcester and Kidderminster. It has a church which dates from the 10t ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, which dates back to the 15th century.

Overview

The Mug House pub is owned by Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries and offers several Banks's bitters along with one or two other guest ales which rotate every few weeks. The owners have chosen to maintain a traditional atmosphere by not introducing games machines or music to the pub. The Mug House has featured in the local news several times over the last few years due to stories that the pub is in some way haunted. The past few landlords have all claimed that there are regularly strange occurrences at the pub such as glasses smashing or dull knocking noises coming from the beer cellar at night. This has only increased the popularity of the pub.

Location

The Mug House is situated in the village of Claines, about three miles north of the city of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

. The exact location of the pub is near the junction where Claines Lane meets Cornmeadow Lane, just to the rear of

church. The situation of the pub is such that one has to walk through, or very near, the graveyard of the church in order to access it. The pub is one of only two pubs in England to be situated on consecrated ground.Chris Arnot
Worcestershire Pub Guide: The Mug House, Claines
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', 8 September 2007.

Interior

The pub consists of four main public spaces inside on the ground floor. There is a back room, bar, hatch and a snug. The back room is most commonly used by diners at lunch time and from this room there is a view of the

Malvern Hills The Malvern Hills are in the English counties of Worcestershire, Herefordshire and a small area of northern Gloucestershire, dominating the surrounding countryside and the towns and villages of the district of Malvern. The highest summit aff ...

. The hatch tends to be frequented when the other rooms are fully occupied. The ceilings inside the Mug House are quite low and as the building is timber framed many of the walls are not straight, because the building has settled over time. In order to access the toilets one must exit the main building because the toilets themselves are located in a separate outhouse. The building is

timber frame Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

d but there is a cellar.

Awards

The Mug House has won a Jubilee Heritage Award in a national competition to find Britain's prettiest pubs. Mounted by the Green Organisation, the competition was launched to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee in 2002 and the role pubs and landlords play in safeguarding natural heritage. The garden, described as a stunning blaze of red, white and blue blooms by all that have enjoyed it, helped secure the award.

References

The Mug House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mug House, The Pubs in Worcestershire Grade II listed buildings in Worcestershire Buildings and structures in Worcester, England