History of the pub

Great Horkesley is a small village about 4 miles north of Colchester in the county of Essex, UK, and is part of the borough of Colchester.

Horkesley is located in what is known as "Horkesley Heath", which is a combination of two villages: Great Horkesley and, to the north, Little Horkesley which is an entirely different Parish. Horkesley is a modern name for the original Saxon name of "Horkaslay" which means "farm land for herds" (mainly sheep) though now it has many fields growing a variety of crops from corn to hemp. A few years ago an archaeological dig was made in woods on Coach Road, where a Bronze Age bronze smelting pit was found.

The Rose and Crown was licenced as a Alehouse from 1788 to 1826, serving the through traffic from Colchester to Nayland. In 1911, it became a member of Greene King based in Bury St Edmunds.

It was granted a Full licence on 4th Feburary 1954 and recently was granted a extended late licence.