OUR STORY

THE ANCHOR

“The Anchor” is part of the Copper Birch inns brand, a gastro pub group belong to the family of restaurants under the Great British Inns company. The Copper Birch Inns group celebrates the character of each individual pub and the community it belongs too. The Copper Birch Inn Group stands for quality, friendly service, excellent local sourced ingredients, talented chefs, freshly prepared food, integrity and value. We focus on creating memorable experiences for all of our guests, whether visiting us for a drink or dining with friends & family. We emphasise to our team members the importance of committing to giving the utmost attention to detail in order for our customers to receive top notch and friendly service.

OUR MENUS

We change our menus with the seasons, so you will always find something new and exciting to tempt your taste buds. Our expert chefs create our menus to celebrate classic dishes as well as introducing new twists and recipes to compliment & revive traditional dishes. We offer a range of different menus for whatever the mood & occasion, be it a quick lunch or a dinner date. Our Sunday menus are dedicated to all our Sunday favourites and to celebrate traditional dishes, all what we believe to be true delicious great British dishes. We cater for vegetarians, vegans as well as offering gluten free options.

HISTORY

The Anchor in Aspley Guise was originally two separate sites. The first site was a freehold cottage first mentioned in 1649 in the ownership of the Hardinge family. It later passed to the Byworths and then to Fenn Cole in 1788. Richard Waterman purchased it from John Cole, son of Fenn Cole, in 1824, devising it to his daughter Sarah Woodin in his will and she in turn giving it to her son Richard Waterman Woodin. It was this cottage which eventually became the Anchor and was purchased by Charles Wells at auction in 1881.

The name of Aspley Guise is believed to be derived from Aspen-Leigh meaning clearing in the aspen (alder) woods and from the de Guise family who owned much of the land during Tudor times and are best known through Mary de Guise, mother of Mary Queen of Scots. Aspley Guise has its origins in 1086, listed in the Domesday. During the Second World War it was home to several ‘Top Secret’ facilities – mostly connected with the code-breaking operations at Bletchley Park and ‘black-propaganda’ broadcasting to occupied Europe from Woburn Abbey. Rumours abound about regular visits by Churchill and General de Gaulle and even that Rudolph Hess was initially interrogated here.