Our Story
Nearly Four Centuries on Crown Hill
The Rose & Crown has stood at the heart of Ashdon since the days of the English Civil War. Originally a 17th-century coaching inn, it is a Grade II listed, timber-framed building full of exposed original beams, open fires and stories – from Oliver Cromwell and his prisoners to the ghost that is said to share the pub with us today.
Once one of five pubs in the village, it is now the last one standing – and we are proud to keep its doors open.
The Building
A Listed 17th-Century Coaching Inn
The Rose & Crown is a timber-framed and plastered building dating from the 16th–17th century, built on an L-shaped plan with two storeys beneath a tiled, hipped roof. It was added to the national list of historic buildings at Grade II on 26 November 1951.
Step inside and you will find exposed original timbers throughout, a bar warmed by an inglenook fireplace and, in the oldest part of the inn, the room that gives the pub much of its character: the Cromwell Room.
For centuries the inn served travellers on the road through north-west Essex. Today it is the only pub left in a village that once had five.
Cromwell & the Civil War
The Cromwell Room
The north room on the ground floor – known as the Cromwell Room – has moulded ceiling beams and joists and, most remarkably, a series of early 17th-century wall paintings, recorded in the building’s official listing.
Local tradition holds that Oliver Cromwell himself patronised the inn during the Civil War, and that he kept prisoners in this very room. The story goes that the captives passed the time by illustrating the walls with their feelings about their predicament. That historic graffiti survives today, protected behind removable panels.
Ashdon in the Civil War
When war broke out between King and Parliament in 1642, Essex and neighbouring Cambridgeshire lay at the heart of Parliament’s Eastern Association – the heartland of Cromwell, who sat as MP for Cambridge and rose to command its cavalry.
Troops and travellers moved along the roads between Cambridge, Saffron Walden and the Essex towns throughout the conflict, and inns along the way were natural places to rest.
Whether or not Cromwell ever raised a tankard here, the Civil War left its mark on local folklore: the fields around Ashdon are said to be haunted on moonlit nights by phantom soldiers still fighting a battle from that era.
Ask the team about the Cromwell Room when you visit.
Is the Rose & Crown Haunted?
Our Resident Ghost
Ashdon’s own Parish Council notes that the Rose & Crown “even has its very own ghost” – and with nearly four hundred years of travellers, soldiers and prisoners passing through its doors, it would be surprising if nobody had stayed on.
Just who – or what – haunts the old inn has never been pinned down. Is it one of the prisoners said to have been held in the Cromwell Room, a weary traveller from the coaching days, or a former landlord reluctant to leave? We will leave you to decide.
Ashdon has other spectral stories too: the Lady Well pond on Dorvis Lane was said to be haunted by a woman who drowned there after a storm caused her horse to bolt, and the Civil War soldiers are said to fight on across the fields on moonlit nights.
Had an experience of your own at the Rose & Crown? We would love to hear it – tell us at the bar or email info@roseandcrownashdon.co.uk.
9 March 1923
The Ashdon Meteorite
Ashdon is one of very few places in Britain where a meteorite has actually been seen falling to Earth.
At about 1pm on 9 March 1923, thatcher Frederick Pratt was working in a wheat field at Ashdon Hall Farm when he heard a “sissing” sound and looked up to see “the earth fly up like water”. He and fellow farm worker Curven dug down around two feet and recovered a dark, shield-shaped stone.
The find was taken to the police station in Saffron Walden, then acquired by the Reverend Francis W. Berry, who donated it to the Natural History Museum in London. There, the Keeper of Minerals, George T. Prior, identified it as a stony chondrite meteorite.
Meteorite Facts
- Fell: 9 March 1923, around 1pm, at Ashdon Hall Farm
- Type: stony chondrite, classified L6
- Weight: about 1.3kg (1.27kg today after samples were taken)
- Size: roughly 12 × 9 × 6cm
- Age: made of minerals that formed with the solar system around 4.5 billion years ago
- Where to see it: the original is in the Natural History Museum’s collection in London; Saffron Walden Museum displays a plaster cast made in 1926
Its smooth, melted face shows where it was heated to white-hot as it tore through the atmosphere. The centenary of the fall was celebrated with a special exhibition at Saffron Walden Museum in 2023.
We have welcomed groups who come to walk out to the site of the meteorite’s fall – do get in touch if you would like to book lunch for your group.
Your Hosts
Meet Ian & Tracy
Today the Rose & Crown is run by landlords Ian and Tracy Holt – the latest in a long line of innkeepers on Crown Hill stretching back to at least 1769, when Edmund Phillips kept the inn.
Ian and Tracy have made the pub a proper village local again: a Free House with local beers and craft ales, a warm welcome for families and friends, and food from a kitchen led by chefs Liam and Fran Grime. They personally curated our wine list, with bottles from local suppliers and vineyards – including Joseph Barnes of Saffron Walden – alongside wines from further afield.
Ashdon Farm Shop
Together with Liam and Fran, Ian and Tracy launched Ashdon Farm Shop at Crown Hill – a field-to-fork artisan shop with handmade deli favourites, fresh meat from Priors Hall and seasonal local produce.
Climbing for Charity
Ian was part of the team – with James, Matt, Harry and Teddy the dog – who climbed Yr Wyddfa (Mount Snowdon) and, with the support of the Ashdon community, raised £11,259.01 for Breast Cancer Now.
At the Heart of the Village
From supporting the Ashdon Primary School PTA’s annual 10k & 3k Fun Run to live music, Christmas markets and Sunday roasts, Ian and Tracy are passionate about keeping Ashdon’s last pub thriving for the whole community.
Life at the Rose
A Proper Village Local
Pints by the wood burner, locals at the bar and a warm welcome from Ian, Tracy and the team. Pop in and see for yourself.
Around the Village
Discover Ashdon
Recorded in the Domesday Book as Ascenduna, Ashdon sits in the rolling North Essex countryside, a ten-minute drive from the market town of Saffron Walden.
Bragg’s Mill
One of the few remaining post mills in Essex, lovingly restored by the Ashdon Windmill Trust and open to visitors on the second Sunday of the month from April to September.
Bartlow Hills
These impressive Roman burial mounds once lay entirely within Ashdon parish before the county boundary moved them into Cambridgeshire.
Ashdon Museum
A charming village museum with period room displays, open on Sunday and Wednesday afternoons during the summer.
Come and See for Yourself
Raise a Glass to History
Settle in by the fire, enjoy local ales, wines and seasonal food, and ask us about the Cromwell Room. Book online – it’s the easiest and quickest way – or call 01799 610949.