House For Sale £425,000
Mews Road, St. Leonards-on-Sea

This is a welcoming home with a history of hospitality which goes way back to 1846 when the building was opened as the Coach and Horses pub. The first landlord, William Birch, was described 'as a man of considerable energy and genial disposition' who, among other things, kept the keys of the St Leonards Fire Engine House and owned several pleasure boats on the beach.

Today it's a three storey cottage with two living rooms, one of which would make a brilliant studio, downstairs loo, bathroom, indoor garden area and two large double sized bedrooms. This is a home which retains a warm and inviting atmosphere and is so well positioned just a couple of minutes' walk from the seafront and around the corner from Norman Road with its independent shops and cinema and the hub of St Leonards. The station at St Leonards Warrior Square is nearby with good access to London, Brighton, Gatwick and the south coast.

Kitchen has built in appliances, range style electric oven with hob and extractor hood, Butler sink, discretely plumbed in washing machine. Bespoke built solid wood cupboards and central island unit. Loo and hand basin tucked in under the stairs.

Downstairs is an incredibly well insulated room with natural light, Butler sink and plenty of power points. An ideal guest room or workspace.
On the second floor are two large double sized bedrooms, one of which has glazed doors to the internal winter garden which is weatherproofed and could either be a studio or an internal garden. Stone paving slabs on the floor.

The second bedroom is a very good size with a big window overlooking the street. The bathroom has been well finished with white tiles, Victorian style roll top bath with claw feet, pedestal wash basin, loo, separate tiled shower. Natural light from window to the front of the house.
Gas central heating. All in good order and well maintained.

Some more history of the building:

The Coach and Horses was the starting point of the St Leonards Bonfire Boys procession on the 5th November 1891, and probably in other years. At the end of an evening customers were driven home by a boy in a donkey or mule chaise rather than walk.

Marjorie Martin, born in 1907, lived in Victoria Dwellings opposite (demolished in the 1960s) and remembered her parents and other residents buying jugs of beer from the Coach and Horses in the inter-war years.

Michael Rose, born in 1932, also lived in Victoria Dwellings. He said: "My dad usually drank in the Kicking Donkey but on Sunday lunchtimes he used the Coach and Horses. When lunch was ready my mother would send me across the road to fetch him. As you went into the pub there was a door on the right hand side leading into the public bar, which was the size of a small living room about 12 foot x 14 foot [3.66m x 4.27m]. Further along the passageway there was a small snug bar and then stairs up into the landlord's accommodation.The shovepenny board was located just inside the door of the public bar. I used to sit on the step with a glass of lemonade and watch my father playing shovepenny with his mates.

"After the war it provided bed and breakfast. In about 1946-7, I remember some American tourists staying there for a few days. They arrived on a 'Red Indian' motorbike decked out in leather tassels, which was an attraction to the local children."

In 1950 the landlord, 72-year old Robert Thompson, attended the licensing session which wanted to close his pub. The police had visited the pub seven times and found the average number of customers was 2.1. The landlord said he had evacuated early in the war when he only had five customers aged between 78 and 95. He returned in 1942 and could open only one day a week. Air raids affected the evening trade.

There were garages, workshops, builders and bakers nearby, which all provided customers, and there were visitors in summer. The house was built into sandstone and it was claimed that beer kept in the cellar was always 65 degrees. People used to come up from the beach for beer and sandwiches but he had 'lost his catering licence'.

Bad trade was due to a shortage of money and the price of beer. The brewers said he was a victim of circumstances with ill health, tax, low-income groups and evacuation during the Battle of Britain. The Coach and Horses was his home, business and livelihood. There was not much else in the poor districts of Hastings and St Leonards. Was the town to have only 'swell pubs'? Sadly it was declared redundant and closed in 1950, just over a century old.

Council Tax Band: B (Hastings Borough Council )
Tenure: Freehold
Council tax £1,810.81 per annum