On the green at Wexcombe, under the Downs, since 1742
Twelve rooms above a very old pub.
A coaching inn with a fire in the bar, a kitchen that knows the farms by name and twelve bedrooms up a crooked staircase. Breakfast is included in every room, and the Beacon footpath starts at our back gate.
Find a room
Or ring the bar on (555) 014-1742
Come in, the fire’s lit.
The Wexcombe has been an inn since the stagecoach from London changed horses in our yard. We took it on in 2009, when the thatch leaked and the bar had one regular and his dog. We fixed the roof first, and kept the regular.
Tom runs the cellar and the kitchen. Harriet runs everything else, including Tom. Between us we will tell you which room suits you, which walk suits the weather, and which table is furthest from the dartboard.
Tom and Harriet Ellery
Innkeepers
Four kinds of room, no two quite square.
Prices are per room, per night, with a cooked breakfast for two. We tell you the quirks up front, because in a building this old there are always a few.
The Snug
from $145 a night
- 120 sq ft
- Small double, 4ft
- Three rooms
Tucked under the eaves on the top floor, with a dormer window over the green and a shower room of its own. Right for one, or for two who like each other.
Worth knowing: The ceiling slopes over the bed. Sit up slowly on your first morning.
Cosy Double
from $175 a night
- 170 sq ft
- Double, 4ft 6in
- Four rooms
Front rooms on the first floor with sash windows, a wing chair and a shower over the bath. Tea tray, Downs shortbread and a hot water bottle in winter.
Worth knowing: They sit above the bar. You will hear the bell for last orders at eleven on Fridays and Saturdays.
Beamed King
from $210 a night
- 240 sq ft
- King, 5ft
- Four rooms
The oldest part of the inn, under the original oak frame from 1742. Wide boards, a window seat facing the Beacon and a proper bath.
Worth knowing: The beam by the bathroom door is 5ft 11in from the floor. It is padded. It still wins now and then.
The Loft Suite
from $265 a night
- 330 sq ft
- King, plus a sofa bed for two
- One suite
The old hayloft over the stables, with a sitting room, a log burner and a roll-top bath in front of a window that looks straight up the hill.
Worth knowing: It is up nineteen creaky stairs and there is no lift. We carry the bags.
The pub, and the kitchen behind it.
Four ales on the pumps, two of them brewed six miles away. Two inglenook fires lit from October to April, dogs welcome by both. The menu changes with what the farms bring in, so here is a fair sample.
- Monday to Thursday
- 12 to 2:30, 6 to 9
- Friday and Saturday
- 12 to 2:30, 6 to 9:30
- Sunday
- Roasts 12 to 4, sandwiches until 7
- The bar
- 11am to 11pm, every day
From this week’s board
- Twice-baked Downs cheddar soufflé, chive cream$11
- Ploughman’s: ham off the bone, cheddar, pickled onions, our own bread$16
- Ale-battered haddock, chips, minted peas, tartare sauce$19
- Steak and Wexcombe ale pie, buttered mash, greens$21
- Slow-cooked shoulder of Downs lamb, rosemary, crushed potatoes$27
- Treacle tart, clotted cream$9
Sunday roast
Rib of Downs beef or leg of lamb, Yorkshire pudding, goose fat potatoes, cauliflower cheese and gravy made the long way. Served 12 to 4, and the beef usually runs out by two, so book a table.
$24Children’s plate $12
Book a table, (555) 014-1742
Breakfast, 7:30 to 10, every day.
Served in the old parlour by the bay window. Sausages and bacon from Pike’s, the butcher across the green. Eggs from Hollow Farm, whose hens you can see from the Beacon path. Bread baked here overnight.
- The full Wexcombe, cooked to order
- Oak-smoked kippers with brown butter
- Porridge with cream and Downs honey
- Harriet’s Seville orange marmalade
- Poached eggs and spinach on sourdough
- A pot of tea that needs two hands
Included in every room rate. Not staying? Breakfast is $16 for non-residents, from 8am, and there is no need to book.
Boots by the door, three walks from it.
Maps are on the dresser in the hall, drying racks are in the boot room, and we will pack you a lunch for $12 if you ask the night before.
1Wexcombe Beacon loop
4.5 milesAbout 2½ hours
Out of the yard gate, up the chalk track to the Beacon and back along the ridge. The view from the trig point runs to the sea on a clear day. Steep for the first mile, then easy.
2The drove road to Hartsfold
3 miles each wayA long morning
The old sheep road between hedges and open downland to Hartsfold church. Walk there, have a pint, and ring us if you would rather be collected than walk back.
3Mill stream and back
2 milesAbout an hour
Flat, along the water meadows to the old mill and home past the church. Good with dogs, pushchairs and legs that did the Beacon yesterday.
What guests wrote in the book.
Sample reviews, for illustration
“We came for one night and stayed three. The Beamed King is everything the photos say, and yes, I hit my head on the beam. Harriet had ice for it before I got back downstairs.”
“The Sunday roast is the best I have had outside my mother’s kitchen, and I have told her so. Book ahead, the beef was gone by two.”
“Tom drew us a map of the Beacon loop on the back of a menu and packed us sandwiches. We walked it in the rain and it was still the best day of the trip.”
“The Snug is small and they tell you so. It is also warm, spotless and the quietest night’s sleep I have had in years. Kippers for breakfast sealed it.”
The Green, Wexcombe. Opposite the church.
The long ochre-washed building with the sign over the door, at the bottom of the Beacon road.
By car
Leave the main road at Harrow Cross and follow the brown signs for Wexcombe, four miles through the lanes. Your sat nav will try a farm track after Hollow Farm. Ignore it and stay on the lane.
By train
Wexcombe Road station is 3 miles away, with trains from the city every hour. A taxi is about $14, or tell us your train and Tom will fetch you in the inn’s old Land Rover for free.
Parking in the yard
Free for guests and diners, 14 spaces through the coaching arch beside the pub. The arch is 7ft 4in high, so roof boxes and camper vans park on the green, which is also free.
Book your stay. A person replies.
Tell us your dates and Harriet will confirm your room by email within a few hours, usually quicker. No deposit until we have confirmed, and free cancellation up to seven days before you arrive.
