The Boars Head (Herongate), BRENTWOOD, Essex

Just three miles south of bustling Brentwood, yet surrounded by woodlands and fields in the unspoilt village of Herongate, The Boar's Head is a Grade II listed country pub overlooking the village pond close to Button Common. It started life as three Tudor cottages and first became licensed premises in the 18th century. Herongate is an attractive Essex village in a proposed conservation area, once part of the Heron Hall Estate owned by one of the county's most influential and ancient families, the Tyrells. Only the moat survives from the grand Tyrell manor house today, but The Boar's Head pub sign still retains the Tyrell crest, a boar's head holding a peacock's feather in its mouth. The family boasted many noted parliamentarians and close servants to the Crown in the 14th and 15th centuries, and Heron Hall must once have been a substantial home, a brick-built castle with round towers, demolished in 1788. An historic small inn with many well-preserved original features, The Boar's Head serves delicious pub food from an extensive menu and an ever-changing specials board, available all day. Sunday lunch is especially popular, served with a huge Yorkshire pudding and unlimited gravy. The Boar’s Head country pub originally comprised three Tudor cottages, forming a group with other buildings around the village pond. Part of the Tyrell family’s Heron Hall estate, it first became a licensed inn in the 18th century serving the small village community. Now a Grade II listed building, this attractive historic pub reflects the essential character of the village itself, surrounded by many attractive 17th and 18th century cottages clustered round the pond and Button Common. Herongate and nearby Ingrave are mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086.