The Three Horseshoes
Located in leafy Spellbrook on the old London turnpike road close to the River Stort The Three Horseshoes is a picturesque thatched-roof country pub and former coaching inn. Originally a Tudor farmhouse of fairytale appearance this Grade II listed inn dates back at least to the 16th century. Sited at a strategic location on the road from London to Cambridge and East Anglia close to the vital river crossing at nearby Bishop's Stortford. The establishment of the Hockerill Turnpike Trust in the 18th century led to improved coach roads and the introduction of a mail coach service in 1785 but it was the development of the shallow and meandering River Stort into a 'Navigation' in 1769 allowing long barges filled with grain and malt to reach London that transformed Bishop's Stortford's flourishing malting industry.