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Detail Pages
The Horse & Jockey, Bilston
Cinder Hill
Postal town: Bilston
WV14 9SB
Pub Type
Punch TavernsReviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Horse & Jockey
Middle class estate pub, set back and down from the road. A modern and comfortable two roomer with a (rammed) bar at the front and larger dining at the rear. The ales are spread out amongst the two bars so we meandered through the lobby into the back room where we were accosted by a slightly startled teenage waitress who basically squeaked “you can’t be in here!!” because of the diners. This put my companions in a grump and they slated the place for the rest of the holiday but to be fair she was just a kid; however it does give you a sense of the place’s priorities when things are busy. Put in our rightful place in the front bar we ascertained that there were seven cask on (via a blackboard), Hobsons and Three Tuns breweries made for four of these. I plumped for two of the Three Tuns beers - XXX (NBSS 3.5) and the Stout (4). The jumbo cobs were snaffled – not the best of the trip, but up there. I liked the place, though with caveats.
On 31st December 2021
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5081 recommendations about 5064 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Horse & Jockey
Good, but unpretentious, freehouse (curiously set some way below the present road level) retaining two separate bars: a modest public bar at the front and a larger lounge / dining area further back. Semi-traditional furniture and decor throughout, and doing good business on a cold Wednesday evening. Five real ales from the various handpumps on the two counters, including Tribute, one each from Backyard and Salopian and a pair from Hobson's - Twisted Spire (£2.90) and Town Crier.
On 22nd December 2019
- rating: 8
[User has posted 8117 recommendations about 8117 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about The Horse & Jockey
Enjoyed our visit to this 2019 Good beer Guide pub today. Selection of beers n 2 bars, and we chose Salopian Postcard from Purgatory which was a stout, and Purity Longhorn IPA both of which were good. It was a friendly pub with a TV on showing a film, and a couple of chaps were sat watching it which gave it a proper community pub feel. Walk through the back bar, and there was a lovely grassy garden area with plenty of picnic tables and a ramp as well as steps down.
On 8th July 2019
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Horse & Jockey
Slightly isolated, out in the middle of a predominantly residential area, this is a pub that's well set up to serve the local community but presumably gets little in the way of passing trade. Having said that, I was afforded a very warm welcome on my recent Saturday early afternoon visit and felt very comfortable sitting down for a relaxing pint. The pub has a reasonably large, two room layout, with steps taking you down from street level through a decent outdoor seating area and into a lobby with a quarry stone floor and some old maps of the local area on the wall. A door to the right takes you into the front public bar which is carpeted throughout and has a couple of long U-shaped banquette running under the front windows, separated by nice wooden partitioning panels. The pleasant dark wood servery runs along the rear wall at the far end of the room and boasts a pump clip lined bar back. To the left of the bar there is a space dedicated to the dartboard, whilst over to the right, a brick fireplace sports a large stove and has a plain mirror above flanked by more pump clips and a TV screen showing Football Focus. The lobby area also leads to the rear, where you'll find a large split level lounge with a curved bar counter in the front right corner and lots of comfy banquette and standard seating throughout. The room is part bare boarded and part carpeted and seemed like a good place to settle down with food or if bringing children.
The handpulls are split between the two bars, so make sure you consult the boards at the bar for the full range. Options on this visit were Hobson's Twisted Spire, Greene King Abbot Ale, Oakham Bishops Farewell, St Austell Tribute, Newbridge Solaris and Springhead Moustache Meg. I gave the Twisted Spire a try - the barmaid pulled the line through before serving a pretty good pint which I enjoyed supping over the day's papers.
I enjoyed my visit to this friendly pub - there was a warm, welcoming feel to the place and it felt like the sort of pub you would be glad to call your local. Despite appearing to be somewhat out on a limb, it is only a 10 minute walk from the Beacon Hotel in Sedgely and I would recommend making the effort to get out here as they make a good double header.
On 11th January 2015
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ale Monster left this review about The Horse & Jockey
This is a red brick community pub which is owned by Punch Taverns, its location is a little unusual as the front of the building is below the level of the main road and it is flanked by large trees, so it is entirely possible to miss the pub from the road. The interior has two rooms, a public bar at the front and a large dining lounge at the back. The main entrance leads into a short corridor with the public bar immediately on the right, this has a small dark wood bar counter in the back right wall, a large brick fire place with an authentic looking cast iron cooking stove in the right hand wall, between the counter and the fire place is a flat screen TV which was showing football results on the BBC, brown leather bench seating and booths across the front wall opposite the counter, a dart board in the back left hand corner near the entrance and various pictures of horse racing on the walls. At the end of the short corridor is the larger lounge which has a cream painted bar counter in the front right wall (directly behind the public bar counter), a classic Victorian cast iron fire place and nice mantle piece in the front left wall, several tables intended for dining with dark red bench seats and brown leather comfy arm chairs. In front of the counter and the fire place the floor is bare floor boards with carpet towards the back of the room. At the back of the lounge are double doors which lead out to a gravel area with garden furniture and there is a small car park on the right of the building.
Regular ales are currently Banks’s Mild, Greene King Abbots Ale and St Austell Tribute with three changing guest beers which on this occasion were Hobson’s Town Crier, Caledonian Deuchars IPA and Young’s Bitter (GBG 2012 and Cask Marque). I tried the Mild, Tribute and Town Crier and found all to be in excellent condition. Note that the beer choice is split between the two rooms.
A great local’s pub which has an effective blend of fairly traditional public bar and a more modern family orientated dining lounge. The pub has been refurbished and slightly modernised in recent years but has retained some nice traditional features, I felt most comfortable in the public bar and the beer was very good, I will return.
On 10th January 2012
- rating: 9
[User has posted 199 recommendations about 199 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Danny O'Revey left this review about The Horse & Jockey
An excellent example of how an Estate pub should be. There is a nice clean bar and more formal lounge/dining area, seems to cater for all, beer drinkers in the bar, foodies and people wanting to sit comfortably in the lounge. There is a plasma screen in the bar & it has soft benches and carpeted whilst the lounge is much bigger and split with shelving to form different areas.
6 real ales, starting with the standard Banks Mild, moving to staples like Abbot Ale to more unusual choices, like Hobsons Town Crier.
Tries to cater for all tastes, as needed in an area such as this, and does it very well. Altogether a good pub.
On 3rd September 2011
- rating: 9
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Soup Dragon left this review about The Horse & Jockey
A large detached brick build in a dip from as seen from the road, with a beer garden
The interior is a mixture of the modern and traditional. The bar has darts and leather perimeter seating, with a TV, sadly showing American Idol, and is in brown, green and white, with horse racing pictures. There is a nice wood bar and a nice brick fireplace, with a Victorian stove. The lounge is foody based, with the comfy type of chairs. The background music was quiet, the place tidy and clean. The service was fine and the clientele more mature.
Beer; tap stuff, with a good Banks’s MILD on handpull, with Pedigree and Bass. St Austell Tribute and Abbot were about to, or had just been on, or indeed were still on in the lounge, but I didn’t notice the board until I sat down
A good visit, decent beer, with a good enough mix of modern and traditional to please both camps. I would return
On 12th February 2010
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3067 recommendations about 3062 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Winfield left this review about The Horse & Jockey
The Horse and Jockey is set below road level and it is in the hurst hill area.
I went in the bar which was comfortable enough and fairly busy and there were four real ales on the bar i had a drink of Batemans Valliant and this was very nice the other beers were Banks's Original/mild, St Austell Dark and Deuchars IPA.
I thought this was a decent pub and i was happy enough having a drink in here.
Pub visited 17/5/2008
On 17th May 2008
- rating: 7
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]