Inside cosy Victorian-style pub in front room of couple’s historical home

A couple have spent thousands of pounds transforming the front room of their new home into one of Britain's smallest pubs.

Hazel and Andrew Smith bought the four bedroomed property in picturesque Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire, for £385,000 back in 2022.

The pair then spent six months and £50,000 converting the front room into a 3.5m (11ft) x 4.2m (13ft) taproom, which has a capacity of just 20 people.

Hazel, 53, even gave up her job as well as selling their home in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, to focus on running the high street micro-pub called J Maverick & Co.

She says their front room boozer is "the very definition of a public house" selling craft ales and ciders by independent breweries and is full to capacity most nights.

They can welcome anyone from locals, tourists, festival-goers and the local rugby club who cram into the pub, which has just one table for six and a window seat.

Hazel said: "We bought this house knowing that we could make a beautiful tap room.

"I think the charm of the place is that it is so small, it encourages conversation and is the very definition of a public house. It has a capacity of about 20 people - there's only room for one table of six and a window seat. As there's only one table people talk to each other and nobody really sits on their phones.

"The place has a fantastic tourist trade, with great locals and a music scene, the town is such a vibrant place and that's why we wanted to do it here.

"We get everything from regulars, to tourists to the local rugby club coming here. It is genuinely like having people into your house. We haven't got a big commute to work either."

Hazel, who previously worked in the travel industry, said she had always dreamed of opening her own business and saw the historic house as the perfect opportunity.

She added: "It was a residential house beforehand, which was let out to tourists and is a very historic place dating back to 1780. It is known as Lavender's House. Lavender Beard was a popular member of the community and founded a museum here.

"I worked for a corporate travel company and at 53 I just asked myself what I really wanted to do for the rest of my working life - and it wasn't negotiating deals with Air France.

"We just wanted a beautiful little house along a beautiful high street and now we have just that. We have four bedrooms, two of which we rent out, and a living room and a kitchen/diner but the front of the house is devoted entirely to being a pub.

"It cost us about £50,000 but we got a rural development loan from the council which helped.

"With applying for change of use, planning permission and licensing it probably took us six months all in all.

"We have six taps - four kegs and two casks - as well as around 1,000 cans in the fridge, which is converted from a Victorian bookshelf.

"We mainly use local breweries in Gloucester, Bewdley, Tenbury Wells and the Wye Valley. We also have Jeremy Clarkson's cider here, Hawkstone Cider. Bewdley Brewery did us our own ale for the last festival which was called Fiddler's Dog.

"We have a big cellar too, which you need to keep everything at the right temperature.

"Its decorated like an old Victorian pub, a lot of real-ale places are very industrial, but that wasn't befitting of such a historic house

"Our grandson's middle name is Maverick, so it is named after him - who knows one day he might inherit it."

Andrew, who also runs a courier company, said: "We keep being told we're definitely the smallest in the Midlands or the smallest in Worcestershire. I think there may be a smaller one up north in a phone box - but we must be among the smallest in the country as it's essentially just our front room."

Customer Michael Dalglish, 55, said the pub has been a welcome addition to the town's high street.

He said: "The ales are great, the owners are great - it's a charming little place and I hope they are here for years to come. I can't imagine there's many pubs in the UK smaller than this. It's a bit of a squeeze but it adds to its appeal."

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