Then and Now: The Roebuck, Warwick

Photograph of The Roebuck Public House, Smith Street, Warwick, 1949. The photograph includes Brook House, now demolished.

Warwickshire County Record Office reference PH 1260/1. Photographer Walter Andrews.

Photograph of The Roebuck Public House, Smith Street, Warwick, 2014.

Photo by Benjamin Earl

This well-known pub is situated at 57, Smith Street and is a popular pub to this day. The earliest record of it as a pub is the 1806 map of Warwick where it is shown as being owned and run by Mrs. Cookes. The building is however much older than that and even gets a brief mention in the Victoria County History where it is described as “a restored and altered house probably of the late 16th Century.” I have tracked down 21 former licensees.

The pub today

From 1956 the names are no longer listed but it was in the hands of a long standing licensee who retired a few years ago. The pub today is L-shaped with a bar area to the front and along eating area going away from the front. The pub has a nice olde worlde feel.

The text for this page was originally published on the History of Warwick Pubs website.