The Foresters Arms

The first record of The Foresters Arms is the sale of an acre of land, formerly known as ‘Upper Eggington’s Place’ and today as ‘The Ridge’ in 1830. The sale of land was to the first Licensee Thomas Mellish Cooper for £200 0s 0p. Thomas Cooper was aged only 19 when he borrowed the money for the land and by 1852 he had built and opened The Foresters Arms, as a single room beer-house.

The public house has had 27 different licensees as well as numerous brewery owners to date, who have all added their own history to the pub. None more so than Ansells Brewery who in 1934 took over The Foresters Arms when they brought out Holt Brewery of Birmingham. Ansells Brewery were granted a full ale-house licence on the 5^th February 1954, after which they extended and enlarged the old beer-house.

Licensees of ‘The Foresters Arms’ from 1852 to present.

(Table showing the licensees from 1852 to present)

The pub is now owned by Punch Taverns and Dave Evans who holds the lease for the next 8 years. Since the takeover in 2011 the pub has been re-decorated both inside and out, with improvements to all facilities including the restaurant, the enclosed beer garden and the smoking shelter. Along with these, a new menu has been created and the range of available bar drinks has been extended, to cater for increasing consumer needs. 

Currently there is a large increase in the popularity of real ales, which The Foresters Arms is keeping up with, maintaining two regionally brewed ales (Wye Valley HPA and Enville Ale) and two guest ales which are rotated weekly. These guest ales currently include Thwaites Wainwright, St Austell Tribute, Brains Rev James and Timothy Taylors Landlord.

The pub is also playing host to musical events and themed evenings throughout the year to give consumers more diversity and attract a wider range of customer.

“Our main aim is to create an inviting atmosphere which people will enjoy. We will make everyone welcome and provide facilities for both families and dogs. We also aim to keep up with industry trends to stay ahead of the game, offering new experiences to new and regular customers.” Trudie Evans.

The Foresters Arms is currently "bucking the trend" and making a success of its self, when many other public houses are closing and customers hope for the pub to stay open for another 160 years.