The Grade II listed building is the only surviving thatched roofed property in Wrexham. It was originally a 16th-century hall house, until it was later split into three cottages, one becoming a beerhouse — The Colliers — and another a private guest house, until they were merged into one pub in 1868.
The building had undergone multiple modifications for various different uses over centuries, glimpses of the original timber-frame construction of the building can still be viewed from the inside.[2][3][4]
The building is largely brick, with surviving timber-framing, such as rear wall timber studs and on the southeast wall. It has a thatched roof, the only one left in Wrexham,[5][6] while its gable faces Hope Street and its doorway on an angle between Hope Street and Priory Street.[3][1]
History
The building possibly dates to the 16th century as a hall house, a type of residence centred on a large room but contains no ceiling.[2][6] The building may have been built with the intention for it to be a dwelling, and the hall house was composed of three units, a two-bay hall and storeyed end-bays.[3][4][1]
In the 17th century, the building was extended south-westwards and sub-divided into three cottages. One of the cottages nearest to Hope Street was a private house, sometimes used as a guest house, while the cottage nearest to Priory Street (furthest away from Hope Street) was a beerhouse known as "The Colliers" (or "Colliers Arms").[2][7] In 1868, the buildings were said to have combined into a single pub,[2][3] although the building is also said to have been "an inn for at least two hundred years".[8] It is also "uncertain" when exactly the merger occurred, and whether as a pub as it was described as a "cottage" in 1893 by Alfred Neobard Palmer.[6] Part of it was also a cobbler's shop.[9]
When used as a public house, it was heavily remodelled in various successive iterations, with only fragments of the building's original form remaining.[3]
The pub was renamed, in the late 19th century,[6] as the "Horse and Jockey" following the death of Fred Archer (died 1886), a Cheltenham-born jockey who had ridden at the nearby Bangor-on-Dee racecourse. The picture on the pub's sign was painted in 1938, copying an original painting of Archer.[2][4][5]
In 1938, the pub was sold by Beirne's Brewery to Wrexham Lager, which repaired the building to prevent its collapse, with the company obtaining a permit in 1939, during World War II, to protect the pub's thatched roof.[2]
There are claims there is a ghost known as "George" present in the pub, with the landlord in 2013 claiming a spirit had once saved a cleaner from topping off a chair by grabbing hold of her leg while she was standing.[2][4]
In September 2004, the building and its thatched roof narrowly avoided being caught on fire, as the neighbouring building, a furniture store, did. The pub was not seriously damaged as a result of the neighbouring fire.[10]
As of 2024, it is owned by Star Pubs and Bars. In April 2024, the owners reported that the pub, which closed in February 2024, would remain closed until June 2024 as they look for a new licensee.[9] It reopened in September 2024 following a refurbishment.[11]
