The Boot Inn

Welcome to The Boot Inn

The newly-reopened Boot Inn is a Grade II listed building built in the mid-1600's situated in the picturesque village of Berwick St James, Wiltshire. Under the new management of Ross and Amy Anderson, our goal is to offer the best gastro pub food, high class wines, craft beers and a family-friendly country pub atmosphere in beautiful surroundings. We are working hard to offer you the full experience. Bear with us as we undertake the necessary refurbishments, we promise it will be worth it! We look forward to seeing you - Ross and Amy.

The Boot Inn Opening Times

A Short History of the Boot Inn

The Boot Inn is a Grade II listed building built in the mid 1600’s of flint and limestone bands with a tiled roof which was formerly thatched.

Many inns came into existence after the 1830 Beerhouse act, an act of parliament brought in to help stimulate the economy.

This enabled individuals to sell beer without a formal licence and it would have been under this arrangement the William Kyte, a master shoe maker, opened the Boot.

The first surviving record of the inns name is in the Kelly’s directory for the area in 1848.

On the 24th of August 1897 the inn was granted an alehouse licence which allowed it to sell cider and spirits as well as beer.

At this time it was licensed for six days a week, closing at 9.00pm.

During this period the Boot Inn was part of an estate which comprised of the houses, cottages, principal farms and inns in the parishes of Winterbourne Stoke, Berwick St James, Stapleford and Steeple Langford. The estate changed ownership several times between 1896 and 1920.

In 1921 the estate was offered for sale at auction in various lots and Wadworth brewery bought lot 3, The Boot Inn.

It remained a Wadworth tenancy from that time and was granted a seven day licence in April 1951.

In 2020, along with 20 other pubs, The Boot was sold off by Wadworth and bought by Red Oak Taverns, a company that owns over 200 public houses and leased to Mr Mike Doldon.  It was closed for business in August 2023 for four months, before being taken over by the present tenants, Ross and Amy Anderson who run a catering company called ROAM.  We wish them every success.

Previous Licensees:-

1848 – 1869: William Kyte & family                       1971 – 1985: Donald Leslie Rowell

1869 – 1921: Robert Keel & famil                         1985 – 1997: Geoffery Neil Blake        

1921 – 1930: Frank Shergold                                1997 – 2008: Kathie Duval 

1930 – 1934: Edward Walter Clark                        2008 – 2020: Giles & Cathy Dickinson

1934 – 1957: James Pember & family                   2020 - 2023:  Mike Doldon

1957 – 1961: Trevor Chirgwin                                2023 -:  Ross & Amy Anderson

1961 – 1971: Percy Mc Gill