Pat & Dave Balcombe welcome you to St Anne's Castle situated in the village of Great Leighs between Chelmsford & Braintree.

The full history of Saint Anne's Castle's past has been lost in the mist of time. However it is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 and lays claim to be the oldest licensed premises in England, as it served ale to the pilgrims travelling to St. Thomas a' Becket's Tomb in the 12th Century..... Certainly it has been an ale house since way back in the middle ages, although at some point it was, rather ironically, an hermitage. The rather uninspiring exterior is the result of a fire over a hundred years ago which destroyed the original thatched roof which was replaced with tiles. Inside, however, closer inspection reveals timbers dating back hundreds of years. Down in the cellars there are remains of tunnels, which reputedly linked the inn with the nearby Leez Priory, and Gt. Leigh's church. When you visit Saint Anne's Castle you will be able to read various references on the walls, telling you more of the history, and hear tales of the ghost, reputedly the troubled spirit of a witch, who was burned at the stake, and buried beneath a stone at the nearby crossroads.

The Oldest Inn In England, Saint Anne's Castle has now returned to being a pub, with darts, pool, crib, and even it's own football team, under the new management of Pat & Dave Balcombe, who, after ten years running Chelmsford's most popular pub, "The Alma", are back in action....and welcome old and new friends.

~ 2001