Sun15Nov
Our Green Man
An old legend, come full circle
Long before he was the name over a pub door, the Green Man was a face in the leaves.
You will find him carved into old stone churches right across Britain and Europe, a wild head crowned in oak and hawthorn, with vines and branches spilling from his mouth. For hundreds of years people have known him as the spirit of the wild wood, the green heart of nature that fades back with the autumn and returns again every spring.
He stands for renewal, rebirth and the endless turn of the seasons, and in the old country they still parade him through the streets each May, Jack in the Green leading summer back into the land.
Our own Green Man has watched over Ashbourne since 1865, when the pub first served the bullock teams and the crew building the bridge over the Finniss. The name sailed out with the settlers from Ashbourne in Derbyshire, home of the original Green Man, and it has stayed ever since. He has been part of our family for years too, on our door and in our garden long before we ever stood behind this bar.
Now Ryan and Carmen are carrying the pub into its next chapter, with heartfelt thanks to Tony and Bronnie for everything they built. Same warm welcome, a little more of the legend woven through.
