A hostelry is a pub or hotel. There are nowadays three in Mickleton; Three Ways House Hotel, Butchers Arms and Kings Arms. There were at one time at least two others; The Milking Pail in Lawson Square and nearby The Lamb Inn on Milking Pail Lane. That a village had a number of pubs is not unusual when the majority of the residents lived and worked locally. The opportunity and means to travel even outside the village was very limited. Therefore, the local pubs would have been important social gathering points and places of entertainment; much more so than today. Remember, radio and television are relatively recent developments.
Beer and cider were at one time important drinks, and not just for the pleasure of their consumption. Agricultural wages may have been in part paid in these drinks, and they were often safer to consume than water, which could be of dubious quality, if not unsafe. The water in beer having been heated (at a temperature sufficient to kill pathogens) predominantly to extract the sugars in malted barley. Cider, although not heat treated in its preparation, is the juice extracted from apples; water is not required as an ingredient. The acidic nature of the juice and the alcohol content of the cider would probably be sufficient to inhibit any pathogens present. The part payment of wages for farm workers with cider was called Truck. It is said that up to eight pints a day could be on offer for the best workers. It was deemed illegal in 1887. Cider had been very much a local enterprise associated with the agricultural cycle. True commercial production began with HP Bulmer of Hereford, which was founded in 1887.
The Butchers Arms pub is on Chapel Lane opposite the Village Hall. It was originally said to be a coaching inn. Stables stood alongside the inn until the 1950s when they were demolished and replaced with a car park. Quite what the inn would have served in terms of stabling for horses and being a coaching inn is problematic. For example, it is not on the main road through the village and the Kings Arms was also said to be a coaching inn. However, the replacement of ‘parking’ for horses with parking for cars reflects the change in expectations of the customers. It has an open plan bar area which was probably made from two smaller rooms. The pub also has a traditional full skittle alley at the rear of the building in what is now called the Nine Pin Lounge. Subsequently, a covered outside seating area has been added.
The pub usually has real ales on offer. These vary but at one time there was an ale called “Mickleton Hooter” - it was made for the pub by a local regional brewery. The name Hooter derives from tales of a strange booming sound heard in the vicinity of the village. The source of this noise is reputed to be a ghostly creature, dubbed by locals the “Mickleton Hooter” which was said to roam nearby Meon Hill and surrounding areas. The name “Hooter” is ambiguous in that it may have different interpretations. It could refer to the noise the creature made, however, “hooter” is also an old word for a ghostly hound. To add weight to the idea that the Hooter is of the canine variety, a cluster of stories about phantom dogs are associated with Meon Hill. Whether the Mickleton Hooter is a solitary dog or a pack of hounds, it is part of a long tradition of ghostly dog sightings in the British Isles.
The Kings Arms is also described as an old coaching inn. It is on the High Street on what is now the B4632, the main road through the village, which would have been a well defined route through the village for coaches. It has been an inn since about 1735. There was a walled garden where the car park is now. Other outbuildings consisted of stables and outdoor facilities for males and females. These would have been basic by today's standard and only ceased to be used in the 1960s when the pub was altered. There are two bar areas, an open lounge - previously made from smaller rooms - and a public bar. The cellars - not now in use - regularly flooded as a fresh water stream ran underneath before running down Mill Lane. It is reputed Freshwater Shrimps were caught in the water. The pub is also said to be haunted; a ghostly figure appearing in the rooms above the bars. Well, it is a purveyor of intoxicating liquor.
The Three Ways House Hotel - previously called the Three Ways Hotel - is in the centre of the village at the junction of Chapel Lane and the High Street, and opposite the Plantation. It was built in 1871 as a house called St. Lawrence House. It was a square building with relatively few rooms. At one time, it had its own vegetable garden, a part of which is now the car park. It has been developed such that there are now 48 individually styled bedrooms, including seven quirky Pudding themed rooms located in one wing. There is a bar area, restaurant, lounge and function rooms. It is nationally renowned - and possibly internationally - as the home of the Pudding Club. The “club” was started in 1985 with the aim of preserving the great British pudding, a tradition that is maintained today. It meets on a Friday evening and sometimes on a Saturday. The highlight of the evening is the Parade of seven traditional puddings. The diners, after trying each of the puddings - possibly more than once - then vote for best pudding of the night.