Cotswolds rival to Jeremy Clarkson pub targets June opening

Nigel Bailey, who is close to becoming the new owner of the former Horse and Radish in Burford Road, Minster Lovell, has said he wants to have the watering hole opened in the summer during the upcoming Football World Cup.

Mr Bailey and his wife, who live in Brize Norton, had an offer accepted for the pub earlier this year and hope to finalise the deal with Stonegate soon.

READ MORE: Cotswolds rival to Jeremy Clarkson pub could reopen soon

The Minster Lovell tavern was on the market for £850,000 last summer although that fell to £650,000 late in 2025.

Mr Bailey confirmed that they would give the pub a new name and said it would be based on English literature.

He said: “We’re eyeing English writers as a source for the name, people who have taken inspiration from the Cotswolds. That’s the concept.”

Horse and Radish in Burford Road, Minster Lovell (Image: Savills)

He added that the food would be traditional British but with a twist and that he is hopeful it will be open for the busy summer season.

“A good thing is that we have got the World Cup coming up,” he said, adding: “I mean it’s going to be all hands-on deck when we get the keys.

“I’ve got contractors lined up and we’re already looking for stuff but not really going into high gear until we have got the keys.”

Boasting 2.092 acres of Cotswolds views, the pub is less than two miles away from Jeremey Clarkson’s boozer The Farmer’s Dog in Asthall.

However Mr Bailey said he expects the upgraded Horse and Radish to complement the former Top Gear man’s boozer as well as The White Hart in Burford.

Horse and Radish in Burford Road, Minster Lovell (Image: Savills)

He said that it will be a pub stitched into the community and that they hope to hold plenty of community events there.

It dates back more than 100 years to 1871 when it was first mentioned in The Census with the name New Inn.

Over the years the New Inn had several transfers of ownership with tenancies lasting on average two years.

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It continued to be called the New Inn into the 21st century and then it reopened in May 2006 after a major refurbishment which included an extra single storey being built to the pub at the rear and side. 

In 2013 the Inn was renamed The Dovecote before being rebranded again as The Horse and Radish.

The pub comes with planning permission for eight shepherd’s huts in the adjacent wild paddock, granted in 2022 and – according to the Land Registry – it was last sold for £465,000 in September 2017. 

Inside the pub is a three-section trading area with multiple entrances, a raised bar section with 22 seats leading to three sets of customer toilets, a central bar-servery section split either side of a feature fireplace and a larger dining area suitable for 46 people at the back.