Home > Essex > Harlow > Three Horseshoes Three Horseshoes
Date of photo: 1967	Picture source: John Cutting
The Three Horseshoes was situated on Three Horseshoes Road. This was built in 1755, being converted to a pub in the early 19th century. It closed in December 2024 after suffering extensive fire damage.
Local newspaper review by John Cutting, 1967
At the end of the last century Great Parndon must, indeed, have been 'off the beaten track' and a feature article in the 'Cyclist' dated April 30th, 1898, under that heading described the village as an ideal place for a quiet afternoon spin.
In that peaceful haven, it stated, would be found 'old houses jotted here and there, great shady trees and crystal streams rippling across the road'.
The recommended journey home was through Nazeing Common where the rider was warned that, after dark, straying cattle and a sharp descent were among the hazards that would have to be faced.
Today the picture is far different. The tentacles of Harlow have engulfed the area and the motor has practically driven the cyclist from the road.
Eddie Randall took over as tenant of the Three Horseshoes from his mother some three years ago but he had been closely associated with the inn since 1930.
One of his duties, as a boy, was to collect sponge cakes and watercress which were popular ingredients of the huge teas eaten by club members who, in all weathers, cycled out to the inn. He remembers too, the leather-clothed amazons performing their ablutions in the outside washhouse.
The Three Horseshoes was, for many years, a headquarters of the Cyclists' Tourist Club. A visitors' book, which has luckily been preserved, covers the period from 1902-1930 and gives a vivid picture of these enthusiasts who toiled, either dustily or muddily, out of London into the country before devouring the gargantuan teas.
The article in the 'Cyclist' mentions the book which, even then must have been in existence for a considerable time and where, it claimed 'many names well-known in the cycle world are to be found'.
The extant volumes include entries which range from the amusing to the vulgar but it is evident that the average cyclist of the period was a happy extrovert with a healthy appetite.
A special entry was 'perpetuated' by the St Andrew's Cycling Club to mark the coronation of HM King George V and Queen Mary. The cyclists were, undoubtedly, politically minded and, on the 24th August, 1913, across the page in the form of a banner headline are the words 'SOCIALISM - the coming order'.
Curiously the first World War passed almost unnoticed but, in October 1914, is the first mention of the motor car. The newly formed Three Horseshoes Car Club were reported as having taken part in a 'scavenge hunt'.
The weather, naturally, called for a lot of comment, chiefly adverse, but the following stanza has a modern ring:
'I think man is a fool,when it's hot he wants it cool, When it's cool he wants it hot, Always wanting what it's not'.
There is a delightful picture showing the Three Horseshoes as it was towards the end of the last century. Today the inn has been modernised but retains its old world charm.
In the large saloon there is always to be found a friendly welcome. The 15th Century beams have been retained and there is a splendid example of an old inglenook fireplace complete with baking oven.
Unfortunately open fires are now taboo in Harlow and electric bars have taken the place of the old-fashioned log. The is a pity and the notice over the fire has a nostalgic ring of the past
'All ye who stand before the FIRE, Pray sit down, is my desire, Then perchance some other bloke, If not the fire, can see the SMOKE'.
The bar is furnished with many horse brasses, an old roasting-spit and, over the counter, is a yard of ale.
A cutlass, attached to one of the beams, was discovered when the old privy in the garden was demolished. It is not, however, known whether the weapon had previously been put to any nefarious use. The well-made wooden pews, although modern, blend perfectly with the old beams.
In the public bar there is a darts board which is in constant demand from a number of clubs in the vicinity.
The restaurant serves full course lunches every week day and, over the Christmas period, no less than 1,200 meals were prepared. Such is the popularity of the service that plans are in hand to enlarge the restaurant. Eileen Randall comes from the Yorkshire dales and, although she has settled down in Essex, she still yearns for the bracing air of the northern heights.
There is to be found in the Three Horseshoes the true spirit of a modern inn. Somehow the notice, pinned to a beam, seems out of place in the friendly atmosphere of the bar.
'Ye shall not GAME, not throw dice, Neither shall ye stake, nor hazard monies, With thy neighbours within the Precincts of this inn. Penalties severe'.
Brewers: Ind Coope (EasT Anglia) Ltd
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Other Photos
Date of photo: 1967	Picture source: John Cutting
Eddie & Eileen Randall , publicans, 1967	Picture source: John Cutting
Eddie & Eileen Randall , publicans, 1967	Picture source: John Cutting