View source for The Fleece Inn

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{{for|the pub in North Yorkshire|The Fleece Inn, Northallerton}}
{{Infobox building
| name                = The Fleece Inn 
| image               = The Fleece, Bretforton.jpg
| image_size          = 
| image_alt           = 
| image_caption       = The Fleece Inn, Bretforton
| map_type            = Worcestershire
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| coordinates         = {{coord|52|5|32|N|1|51|56|W|display=inline}}
| map_dot_label       = The Fleece Inn
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| etymology           = 
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| topped_out          = 
| building_type       = Public House
| architectural_style = [[Timber framing|Timber-framed building]]
| classification      = 
| location            = [[Bretforton]], [[Wychavon]], [[Worcestershire]]
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| current_tenants     = 
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| start_date          = 15th Century<ref name="HE">{{NHLE|num=1081605 |desc=Fleece Inn|accessdate=30 June 2016}}</ref>
| stop_date           = 
| topped_out_date     = 
| completion_date     = 
| opened_date         = 1848<ref name="NT">{{cite web|url=http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/the-fleece-inn |title=NT:Fleece Inn - Overview |accessdate=30 June 2016}}</ref>
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| client              = 
| owner               = [[National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty|National Trust]]
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| designations        = Grade II listed building {{NHLE|num=1081605|short=yes}}
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| rooms               = <!-- or | unit_count          = -->
| parking             =  
| website =  {{URL|http://thefleeceinn.co.uk/}}
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}}

'''The Fleece Inn''' is a [[pub]] in [[Bretforton]], in the [[Vale of Evesham]], Worcestershire, England: the [[half-timbered]] building, over six hundred years old, has been a pub since 1848, and is now owned by the [[National Trust]]. The inn was extensively damaged by fire on 27 February 2004, and after repairs and rebuilding were completed the Fleece officially reopened on 18 June 2005.<ref name="WMfun">{{cite web|url=http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/7443434.Fun_as_Fleece_rises_from_flames/?ref=arc |title=Fun as Fleece rises from the flames |website=www.worcesternews.co.uk |date=23 June 2005 |accessdate=30 June 2016}}</ref>
The pub holds an annual asparagus festival and auction while there are three [[Morris dance|morris sides]] based at the pub: Pebworth, Belle d'Vain and Elemental. There is a regular folk night plus concerts and weddings in the medieval barn.<ref name="FIwhatson">{{cite web|url=http://thefleeceinn.co.uk/whats-on/ |title=Fleece Inn:whats on |website=thefleeceinn.co.uk |accessdate=30 June 2016}}</ref>

==History==
Owned by the National Trust, The Fleece Inn was originally built in the early 15th century as a [[Longhouse#Europe|longhouse]] (an early type of farmhouse accommodating both livestock and humans) by a prosperous yeoman farmer called Byrd. It later became a pub, which was rebuilt in the 17th century and remained in the Byrd family until 1977, when Lola Taplin bequeathed it to the National Trust. Lola was a direct descendant of Mr Byrd, and lived her entire life at the Fleece. She died at 77, having run the pub on her own for the last 30 years of her life.<ref name="FIabout">{{cite web|url=http://thefleeceinn.co.uk/about-us/ |title=Fleece Inn:about us |website=thefleeceinn.co.uk |accessdate=30 June 2016}}</ref> The Inn suffered serious fire damage after a fire broke out in the thatch in February 2004,<ref>{{cite journal|date=Spring 2005 |title= News from WHEAS - The Fleece, Bretforton|url= http://worcestershirearchaeologicalsociety.org.uk/Worcs%20Recorder%20Issue%2071.pdf |journal= Worcestershire Recorder |publisher= Worcestershire Archaeological Society |issue=71 |pages= 5–6 |issn= 1474-2691 |access-date= 30 June 2016}}</ref> and the business temporarily moved to a nearby barn during the 14 month long restoration.<ref name="WMfun"/>

Reputedly Oliver Cromwell's [[pewter]] dinner service was exchanged on the way to the [[battle of Worcester]] and this is on display at the pub. Even if this account is not true, it is an example of 17th-century Jacobean English pewter ware.{{cn|date=June 2016}}

A curious medieval tradition also survives at the Fleece, preserved in accordance with Lola's wishes. This is the practice of chalking "witch circles" on the floor in front of each hearth to prevent witches from getting in through the chimneys.<ref name="WMfun"/> There are also "[[witch mark]]s" on the inside of the door, to keep evil spirits out.{{cn|date=June 2016}}

==Culture==
[[File:Snug bar at The Fleece Inn - geograph.org.uk - 2291383.jpg|thumb|Snug bar at The Fleece Inn ]]
The BBC used The Fleece Inn and the surrounding village green for its [[Martin Chuzzlewit (1994 TV series)|1994 production]] of Charles Dickens' novel ''[[Martin Chuzzlewit]]''; the pub was renamed the "Blue Dragon" for the duration of shooting<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/7691316.It_s_fighting_talk_from_landlord_of_historic_pub/ |title=It's fighting talk from landlord of historic pub |website=www.worcesternews.co.uk |date=2 August 2002 |accessdate=30 June 2016}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://thefleeceinn.co.uk/ The Fleece Inn]

{{National Inventory Pubs}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fleece Inn, The}}
[[Category:Grade II listed pubs in Worcestershire]]
[[Category:National Trust properties in Worcestershire]]
[[Category:National Inventory Pubs]]
[[Category:Timber framed buildings in England]]
[[Category:Wychavon]]