Horse & Groom Free House

The Horse & Groom has been owned by jeweller Annoushka Ducas MBE and her businessman husband John Ayton MBE, founders of Links of London, since 2019.

However, The Horse & Groom has been East Ashling’s public house for more than 200 years, and is ideally located just four miles west of Chichester, nestled at the foot of the South Downs National Park.

It is a pub with a long history. There has been a dwelling on the property since the early 1600s. Records show it was bought by John Page, a wealthy landowner, on 20th December 1624 and soon after converted into a “Smyths shoppe” or “forge.” By May 1812, William and Edward Humphry, brewers of Chichester, converted the premises into a public house. It continued its life as a pub and in the 1960s actor and director Laurence Olivier was a Horse & Groom regular where he visited the bar to learn his lines.

The current owners have transformed this country pub with 10 bedrooms and have extensively refurbished this historic building.

The focus of the food is in delivering quality, freshly prepared dishes with a strong emphasis on locally sourced ingredients.

In the pub dining room dishes are prepared with locally sourced produce against the backdrop of early 20th century paintings and contemporary art.

Head chef, Luke Cochran, collaborates with artisan suppliers to craft an array of bar plates that celebrate the freshest ingredients, all featuring the very best of Sussex produce.

Menu items have included Calcot Farm beef burger, smoked cheese, bacon, lettuce and tomato, fries and South Downs rump of lamb and Calcot Farm 40-day airdried steak, tomato, flat cap, chips, peppercorn Sauce.

The pub has received a raft of awards. Most recently it received 2 rosettes from the AA for culinary excellence 2024/2025.  In 2019 the team won the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice badge, and have been awarded a four AA Star Inn rating and they have also received the AA Breakfast Award.