Sun Inn, Leintwardine

The parlour, where Flossie held court

The Sun Inn is an excellent, must visit pub, in the village of Leintwardine, between Ludlow and Knighton. It was one of the countries last parlour pubs. It gets three stars in Camra’s inventory of historic pub interiors. It’s a regular entry in Camra’s Good Beer Guide these days.

A parlour is an old-fashioned name for a living room. In the past may pubs in this country were simple living rooms in someone’s house. The Sun Inn was one of them. Until 2009 it was run by Flossie Lane. There was no bar, Flossie served you at the table. Sometimes you had to serve yourself if she was busy watching TV. She was born in the pub in 1914 and was still serving up to her death in 2009. Aged 95. At the time she was the oldest and longest serving landlady in England.

When Flossie died, it looked like the pub would be lost forever. But a campaign by Camera managed to save it. It was taken over by a small local brewery and the chip shop next door.

The two rooms where Flossie held court have been preserved, the pub has been extended at the rear.

The beer when I visited was excellent. They do light lunches and fish and chips from the chippy next door can be eaten in the garden.

The parlour

The bar with its wooden tables

The bar