ThreeHorseshoes

The Three Horseshoes PH was situated at the centre of the village where the modern bp filling station, which still retains the name, can be found.

The original building dated back to the early 19th century, or possibly late 18th century. The Tithe records of 1840 show it to have been a Beerhouse occupied by William Cooper. His son Thomas was in occupation by the time of the 1851 census, when it was still listed as a Beerhouse, though Cooper’s occupation was given as a Corn salesman.

By the end of the 19th century the then landlord a Mr. Gowland also appeared to have operated a “taxi” service as there was a serious incident in 1896 reported in The Gazette: “the son of the proprietor of The Three Horseshoes at Leverstock Green was driving two gentlemen back from the station in a pony and trap, having met their train. When near the entrance to The Lawn, the horse bolted and the occupants were thrown from the trap. The horse leaped the gate taking most of the trap with it and continued it's wild careering until it found itself in the canal. Mr. Gowland sustained serious injuries about the head, and the other two in the trap escaped with cuts and bruises. “

In 1904 Tom Perkins and his wife Elizabeth took over the Three Horseshoes.

The photograph above was taken at this time and also shows their son Edmond, and the grocery store which occupied part of the building. Tom kept a market garden behind the premises, whilst Elizabeth ran the grocery store. They were to occupy the premises till the late 1920’s. Their son Edmond later operated a taxi service to Boxmoor Station based at the Three Horseshoes, and can be seen here with his car in about 1919.

FIRE! FIRE! AT LEVERSTOCK GREEN BUILDINGS GUTTED

EXCESSIVE HEAT THEORY

A FIRE OCCURRED AT LEVERSTOCK GREEN ABOUT 3 O’CLOCK YESTERDAY (Friday) AFTERNOON AS WE WERE GOING TO PRESS, AND TOTALLY DESTROYED A BARN AND STABLING ADJOINING THE THREE HORSESHOES PUBLIC-HOUSE.

It is supposed that the heat of the sun caused the conflagration. Smoke was seen issuing from the barn and almost immediately the whole premises seemed to burst into flames. The alarm was

QUICKLY SPREAD

and in a short time numerous villagers were on the scene, and at once set to work with buckets of water. It was obvious that nothing could save the buildings, and attention was then concentrated on keeping the fire free from the licensed premises, and the numerous workers were successful in their objective. Assisted by the breeze the flames

BURNED FIERCELY

and within half an hour the buildings were completely gutted. Fortunately there were no animals in the stables at the time, but a number of agricultural implements and a quantity of straw suffered destruction.

A message was wired to the Hemel Hempstead fire station, and the Brigade under Captain Hancock, turned out smartly and was quickly on the scene with the steamer. They fixed the hydrant and commenced to take the hose towards the premises, but found they had

NOT SUFFICIENT HOSE

for the distance, which was considerable. Dr. Gilroy, who had motored over, brought a fireman back to Hemel Hempstead with him for a further supply.

The inn is the property of Mr. Finch and the lessees are the Chesham Brewery Co. Ltd. Mr Perkins is the tenant….. [Gazette 22 July 1911]

By the 1930’s the Three Horseshoes had become the village filling station, which according to Kelly’s Directories of 1933 & 1936 was run by George Membury and Leonard Wells. (See photo) In the 1950’s it also served as a refreshment room frequented by cyclists. By the late 1960’s the original building was demolished and a more modern garage and filling station built on site. This has subsequently been replaced with the current bp (originally Mobil) filling station.