In February 2018 The Smoker underwent a massive £750,000 refurbishment to bring it right up to date and make it into a really comfortable, relaxing place to enjoy great food and drink.
The Smoker first opened its doors in 1597, a year when William Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’ was first performed and the King James Bible was published for the first time in London. The pub is a 400 year old iconic thatched coaching inn and is the only pub in Britain called The Smoker.
The inn was named after Smoker, a smoky-coloured charger owned by the first Lord de Tabley, who raised the Cheshire Yeomanry against the threat from Napoleon. The horse was bred as a racehorse by the Prince Regent. Racing calendars from 1790 and 1793 show that Smoker won 12 of his 19 races and was only unplaced twice.
