Pub Heritage Viper
Essex - Mill Green
Three star - A pub interior of exceptional national historic importance
Listed Status: II
Mill Green RoadMill Green
CM4 0PT
Tel: (01277) 352010
Email: info@thevipermillgreen.co.uk
Website https://www.thevipermillgreen.co.uk
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Thevipermillgreen
Real Ale: Yes
Real Cider: Yes
Lunchtime Meals: Yes
Evening Meals: Yes
Nearby Station: Ingatestone
Station Distance: 3500m
Public Transport: Near Railway Station (Ingatestone) and Bus Stop
Bus: Yes
View on: Whatpub
UPDATE 2023 After a significant period of closure and a major refurbishment, the pub recently reopened. Initial reports indicate than a very good job has been done with the key historic features all retained.
A delightful secluded pub set amidst extensive woodland. Two doors face you. That on the left leads to the tap room which is really the star attraction. It is a small space with seating round three sides near the window, a hatch to the servery, and, what appear to be refitting from around 1930, a parquet floor and brick fireplace. Set in the bench seating is a hole and associated drawer for the now-rare game of pitch penny. Left of this space is a much more recent public bar with a modern counter. The second outside door leads into what is called a private bar, although this is a rather big space and became linked in post-war times to an area on the far right. A panelled bar counter serves both spaces. The front window on the far right replaced a door which was closed following subsidence after a hot, dry 1970s summer.
Originally two cottages, with extensions added to the left-and-right and now a four-room pub. The great feature here is the small tap room (centre left) with service via a door-cum-hatch. The fittings are very simple fittings: just left of the entrance is a timber screen behind which a tiny drinking area with seats round three sides: one of these benches has a has a hole in it the traditional pub game of tossing the penny, and a drawer beneath for collecting successfully tossed coins. The herringbone parquet flooring and brick fireplace probably date from around 1930. Basic pub rooms existed like this in their thousands – but now they are a great rarity thanks to 'progress'|! The public bar on the far left became part of the pub later and retains its wall bench seating: the counter is probably relatively recent.
The room on the right labelled ‘Private Bar’ changed to its present style in the post-war period when it was decided to bring the fourth room into public use and add the counter, still in an inter-war style, spanning the two right-hand rooms. The plaster was removed from the two right-hand rooms in the late 1970s and the fireplace in the private bar is from this time. The window at the front on the far right was formerly the site of a doorway but this was closed following subsidence and movement after one of the hot, dry summers in the 1970s. The pub was run by the Beard family from 1938 to 2005. The pub holds beer festivals (50+ beers) over four days on Easter weekend and the August Bank Holiday weekend.
