The clip-clop of hooves on cobbles rang out daily across 19th-century Blackburn as heavy horses delivered Thwaites ale across town. Today four beautiful Shires remain members of our team, charming colleagues and customers alike. We absolutely love them (and don’t they know it?!)
Thwaites’s Shires were put out to grass in the 1920s as steam wagons and then lorries replaced the horse-drawn drays. But in the late 1950s, when working heavy horse breeds had declined to the point of near extinction, a young manager (and future Thwaites managing director) called David Kay persuaded the board to bring Shires back into the business. Our four-legged team members became invaluable once more, not only delivering barrels of beer to local pubs but winning hearts – and prizes – all over the country. After meeting the Queen in 1978 when she presented them with trophy at the Shire Horse Society’s Centenary Show, they received the Freedom of Blackburn in 1985 for their service to the town – an honour bestowed on Daniel Thwaites’s granddaughter Elma Yerburgh 50 years earlier.
Today our handsome ambassadors epitomise the heritage and craftmanship at the heart of Thwaites. They’re out several times a week meeting our guests or going to community events, flying the flag for their endangered breed. Cared for and trained by head horseman Richard Green and his colleagues Jon Jones and Bev Holland, they’re always beautifully turned out and beautifully behaved. “It’s wonderful to see people’s faces when they hear the horses’ hooves on the road and turn round to see them pulling the dray in their traditional harnesses,” says Richard, who’s looked after our horses for quarter of a century and won many prizes beside them in the show ring. “There’s no better feeling than being in a grandstand full of people when your horses are going well.”
Drummer
The oldest of our gentle giants, 10-year-old Drummer sets a fine example for his younger stablemates. He’s been with us since he was two years old, moving with us from the Star Brewery in Blackburn to our new home in Mellor in 2018. He loves meeting customers on visits to our pubs, inns and hotels – especially if they slip him a cheeky apple. Pulling Santa’s sleigh at Christmas markets and fairs is one of his favourite jobs.
Thunder
Thunder, aged seven, is the most laid-back horse in the stable. A team player who’ll turn his hooves to anything, he does us proud performing at agricultural shows or taking part in community events, such as the annual May Day Parade in Knutsford, home of our Cottons hotel. We all love popping out to the paddock to scratch Thunder’s shoulder and have a natter at lunchtime: he’s a great listener with a high tolerance for office politics.
Regal
Beautiful Regal is a bit of a prima donna. The most spirited of our horses, he loves strutting his stuff in the show ring. He’ll compete in a pair with Thunder but he really shines as a solo act, winning awards in the single trade turnout for the elegance and discipline with which he pulls our restored brewery dray. Like all our Shires, nine-year-old Regal is black with white legs and a white blaze. Thwaites red is his perfect colour.
Duke
Four-year-old Duke is still in training, having joined us in 2025. Every morning at 6am when we open the stable doors, he’ll be standing to attention, greeting us with a friendly whinny and gently kicking the wall to tell us to hurry with his breakfast. He’s got a taste for spent barley from the mash tun – a key part of his diet – and like his stablemates he’s partial to a pint of Thwaites Original in the afternoon.
