The New Inn in Squirrels Heath Lane was established in 1846.
According to Havering Libraries, it was constructed next to what was known at the time as the Factory Terrace, which housed workers from the Eastern Counties Railway Factory in Squirrels Heath.
The exact date an alcohol licence was obtained for The New Inn is unclear, but by the early 1850s the pub was fully up and running as a licensed beer house.
It is understood to have been permitted to sell beer, bottled beer, porter, cider, ale, and perry.
An advert for the watering hole was published the Essex Times in October 1882, and has been preserved in Havering Libraries’ archive.
It reads: “New Inn, Squirrels Heath, Romford. Ales of the finest quality. Tobacco and cigars.”
In the late 19th century the early Victorian build was described to span over two storeys, with “enlarged casement windows” to the ground floor, and a central entrance under a “deep curved hood”.
By 1967, the pub had come under the ownership of Ind Coope.
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The New Inn is still in existence today almost 180 years after it was established, featuring what appear to be the same windows and overhead entrance as described in the late 19th century.
According to Havering’s Heritage Asset Register of local heritage interest, the pub is “distinctive” and represents a “high quality build and materiality”.
It is described as “an architecturally distinctive building which makes a positive contribution to the street scene, and is a prominent social landmark for the local area”.
