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OUR HISTORY

PLANTED IN THE FAMILY SINCE 1970.

The history of The New Inn is truly unique, having been bought well over 50 years ago and subsequently run by the grandparents of our current landlady Laura Faulkner.

Laura’s grandparents, Basil and Winifred Francis, purchased The New Inn in 1970 and ran it successfully for over 27 years with their son Andy and his wife Lindy, until 1997, when it was let on a 25-year lease to the Dorset-based brewery Hall & Woodhouse.

Now that the lease has ended, the decision was made to take it back ‘in-house’, and we couldn’t be more excited to welcome you all back to come and see us!

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1970

Basil & Winifred Francis bought the freehold to The New Inn from Burt and Queenie Jones for £32,000 and were told by numerous people at the time that they had overpaid for the building and they had made a ’silly’ decision.

1972

A small extension was built onto the side of the original 15th Century listed building to increase the living space, kitchen area and trading area.

1977

World famous boxer Muhammed Ali paid a visit to The New Inn along with the Australian golfer Greg Norman and film director James Marshall famous for the film ‘The Greatest”, who lived locally at Highfield.

1979

Another extension was built to further increase the trading area into what became known as ’The Grove Bar’.

1987

The final extension was erected, which saw the addition of a 16-bedroom hotel.

1997

The building, including the hotel, was leased long-term to Dorset-based brewery Hall and Woodhouse.

2022

On the 22nd of September, the keys finally returned to the family, which will see the New Inn become a true family-run business once again early in 2023, following an exciting and sympathetic refurbishment of all aspects of the property.

SLEEP THE NIGHT WITH US

Fancy a night in one of our 16 beautiful rooms? Take a look at what we have to offer.

OUR ROOMS
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OUR LANDLORD AND LANDLADY

The new landlord and landlady Tom and Laura Faulkner have been running pub restaurant businesses for well over 20 years – most recently at The Hogget in Hook, which is located only a few miles from The New Inn.

Their combined experience of cooking excellent stand-out home-cooked food and providing the very best customer experience has proven to be a business success story over a number of years, which will now make its way to The New Inn at Heckfield.