One of the less obvious pubs in Ledbury, but well worth finding. Leave the 232 bus by the stop at the Market House. Walk through the vaulted space under the Market House, and with the Raft clothing shop on your right, look up cobbled Church Lane. Sometimes described as one of the ‘most photographed streets in the UK’, heritage black and white timbered buildings abound as you walk up the pedestrian cobbled lane towards St Michael and All Angels church.
On your left you have the Town Council office, then the Grade II listed Public Toilets, and the entrance to the Weavers Gallery. Just before the long and low Old Grammar School that houses the Ledbury Heritage Centre, you find the door to the friendly Prince of Wales pub, which welcomes locals and visitors alike. Built in the sixteenth century and possibly once a dormitory for the adjacent grammar school, sources suggest it has been a pub since at least the 1830s.
Enter, and you find a bar on your left, a small snug on your right, and ahead of you a doorway leads to a second bar on the left with a longer seating area. Low beams feature, and there are many photos of musicians taken during past performances. There is a small semi covered smoking area outside at the rear, just off the second entry from Church Street.
Consistently listed in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide and a former Herefordshire Pub of the Year, beer enthusiasts are well served in terms of variety and quality. Manager Jonathan Kaye has been in charge for nearly a year and is making some gradual changes.
Hand-pulled cask beers from Hobsons, Ledbury Real Ales and Otter Brewery are fixtures on the bar, complemented by a changing roster of guest cask ales, often from local breweries. It’s always worth looking in to see what’s new on the bar, or checking the Facebook page where the arrival of new beers are regularly announced. Some changing craft keg is available, from Purity and others. Bottled beers include German Wheat, and some craft cans, including low alcohol choices. Local ciders on draught or in bottles include Robinsons, Dunkertons, Westons and Snails Bank, and Jonathan recently added two more draught cider lines. A menu of well-chosen gins is available, with tonics to match, and also some of the less obvious single malt whiskies and rums. Recently the wine list has been upgraded and expanded.
The food offer includes pies from the Pieminister range, which have options for vegetarians and vegans, with mash and gravies. Daily specials are available, with local butchers sausages and faggots from D.T. Waller on the Homend, and a menu of Light Bites with a choice of dips. There are some gluten-free options. Lunchtimes can be busy. Tuesdays offer curries, and Friday is fish day.
Acoustic open folk sessions are held on Wednesday evenings with all welcome to perform or listen. Sunday music gigs were held regularly pre-Covid, but after a quiet period, monthly music sessions are starting to appear. Monday nights host a board game session. The pub is family and dog friendly, wheelchair accessibility is possible but a bit tight.
Open 7 days, 12.00- 23.00. Food served 12-21.00.
Prince of Wales, Church Lane, Ledbury HR8 1DL
Phone 01531 632250
