The couple behind the Double Red Duke in the Cotswolds have doubled up with the opening this week of the Mason’s Arms, across the road in the Oxordshire village of Clanfield.

Formerly known as the Clanfield Tavern, the Mason’s Arms is the original name of the old coaching inn, parts of which date from 1610. The building has been restored in recent months, with the bedrooms to be completed later this year.

Sam and Georgie Pearman, founders of the Cubitt House group in London and the Lucky Onion group in the Cotswolds (which they left in 2017), opened the Double Red Duke under their new Country Creatures brand three years ago. The Mason’s Arms is its second venue.

Sam paints a bucolic picture of the restored pub: “Much like Orwell and his fictional The Moon Under Water, we want our regulars to occupy the same chair every evening, and to visit as much for the conversation as for the beer! And of course, to be particular about our drinking vessels. 

“Frothy pints, Scotch eggs and a Sunday roast with the dogs and all the children, or a sleepy afternoon with a book in front of the fire – the cellar will be stocked and there is a sense of such great anticipation for our first guests – locals and travellers alike.”

The Mason’s is considerably smarter, though, than any pub Orwell frequented. There is a pewter oyster bar and a hidden ‘card room’ decorated with Snakeshead, a wallpaper designed by the Arts & Crafts founding father William Morris, whose country house Kelmscott is nearby.

The menu, meanwhile, is by Chris Lindsay, who trained under Pierre Koffmann and was sous chef at The Ritz. Highlights include Cotswold half roast chicken with onions and bacon; baked sole, brown crab butter & seashore vegetables; and ox cheek pie and mash.