MEMBERS of the Hereford Times’ Facebook group We Grew Up In Hereford have been reminiscing about the opening of a popular Hereford pub.

A picture posted by Brian Tipton prompted discussion about the history of the Cock of Tupsley, on the junction of Ledbury Road and Hampton Dene Road. They have also shared their memories of the earlier days of the pub.

The picture shows the painters and decorators finishing off the pub ahead of its opening in the late Sixties.

Brian said: “The last lick of paint has been applied and the Cock of Tupsley is now finished and ready to open.”

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Before the pub was built there was a farm on the site called Lower House Farm at Tupsley Court.

It had a big black-and-white farmhouse that was demolished to make way for the new pub.

The name of the pub is said to have derived from the ‘cock horse’ that was used to pull wagons up steep hills, such as the one linking Tupsley with nearby Lugwardine.

Kevin Plummer remembers 1980s meals with his parents at the pub.

He said: “We started to eat there in about 1986, when there was an iron horse dividing the two bars.

“The decor then was extremely late 1960s and all ultra-modern, but then in 1988 it was completely refurbished to look very Victorian.”

Richard Sockett remembers visiting as a young man and said: “Always loved the Cock of Tupsley. As a sixth former, you’d often find your tutors in there having a pint or two after work.”

Geoff Loynes went further than that saying he could remember as a 14-year-old sitting in an early afternoon maths lesson at the Bishop of Hereford Bluecoat School regularly watching certain groups of teachers heading over there for their lunch.

Kevin Frayne said the pub was his father’s favourite.

He said: “I will always remember the one-time Hereford United manager Colin Addison coming over and saying a few words about our dad at the pub when he died, it made me proud