Part thatched, the building is full of character and atmosphere and makes a wonderful spot to sip on a pint of Brakspear ale or enjoy a nicely chilled glass of wine. Food at the Four Horseshoes is freshly cooked - much of it locally sourced - and there is a delightful restaurant area, which leads out to a really lovely large garden where you can enjoy your food and children can play. In winter, th
ere are not one but three real fires to warm even the most adventurous walker. The walks are fantastic, and this is a popular place to stop; along the road is a stunning old Norman church, which leads to lovely rural walks and scenery for which the Chiltern area is so well known. WH Brakspear & Sons Ltd is the name of a brand of English beers and pubs, based in Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire. While the beer brewing and pub management sides of the business were originally unified, the brewing has since been sold to Wychwood Brewery owners Refresh UK. History
The Brakspear brewery dated back to 1711, when W.H. Brakspear bought a brewery on Bell Street, Henley. The Brakspear family was distantly related to Nicholas Breakspear, who became Pope Adrian IV in 1154 — the only Englishman to become Pope. In 1812, the brewery moved to the Thames-side location on New Street. It is understood that in 2002, the original company 'WH Brakspear & Sons Ltd' while retaining ownership of the Brakspear beer brands, licenced the brewing of the beers to Refresh UK, also the owner of Wychwood. On 17 October 2002 the original brewery ceased production and closed. The site was then sold and part of it converted to become one of the "Hotel du Vin" chain of boutique hotels. The now non-brewing Brakspear Pub Company concentrates on maintaining and expanding its growing pub estate (102 pubs) in November 2006 the company was bought by pub chain JT Davies for £106million. It has been announced that JT Davies' pubs will be rebranded as Brakspear's.
