Colin Smith, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Eat and drink · Shipston-on-Stour
The White Bear
Donnington Brewery's eighteenth-century coaching inn on the square in Shipston-on-Stour, with two bars, pub classics from Wednesday to Sunday, Aunt Sally in the garden and rooms.
Dog-friendly
The town's Donnington pub: a proper two-bar local with the brewery's ales, dogs welcome and a plain menu of classics. Come Wednesday to Sunday if you want to eat.
- Good: Donnington ales from the Cotswold brewery that owns it
- Good: Food all day, noon to 9pm, Wednesday to Saturday
- Good: Dogs welcome in both bars and the eating area
- Good: Free parking behind the pub
- Worth knowing: No food on Mondays or Tuesdays, when the bar opens at 2pm
About
The White Bear is a coaching inn on the High Street in Shipston-on-Stour, looking over the market square. The archway at the front led to the stables where eighteenth-century travellers left their horses, and the yard behind is now the car park and garden. Since 2013 it has belonged to Donnington Brewery, founded in 1865, and the landlord is Miro Michaleski. The brewery's other houses are in our guide to Cotswold pubs and their breweries.
There are two bars: a sports bar with the television and a lounge bar, with a restaurant area off it. Food is served from Wednesday to Sunday: a short menu of pub classics and light bites from noon to 9pm from Wednesday to Saturday, and a Sunday roast from noon to 4pm. On Mondays and Tuesdays the bar opens at 2pm and there is no food. The beer is Donnington's, with lagers, ciders and coffee.
Well-behaved dogs are welcome in both bars and in the eating area. In the garden at the back you can play Aunt Sally, and there are quiz nights and events through the year. Parking behind the pub is free. The inn also has eight en-suite doubles and twins, all on the first floor and reached only by stairs, booked online through its website. Check-in is from 3pm and check-out by 10am, and well-behaved dogs stay in the rooms at no extra charge. When we checked, the pub said it was refurbishing the rooms, so ring for availability, and it was not serving breakfast.
Opening hours and season
Closed, opens Tue 10, 14:00
| Mon | Opening | Food served |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 14:00 to 23:00 | Closed |
| Tuesday | 14:00 to 23:00 | Closed |
| Wednesday | 11:00 to 23:00 | 12:00 to 21:00 |
| Thursday | 11:00 to 23:00 | 12:00 to 21:00 |
| Friday | 11:00 to 23:00 | 12:00 to 21:00 |
| Saturday | 11:00 to 23:00 | 12:00 to 21:00 |
| Sunday | 11:00 to 22:00 | 12:00 to 16:00 |
Bar only on Monday and Tuesday from 2pm. The pub says it stays open late on Fridays and Saturdays; 11pm is shown here.
The details
- Food
- Pub classics
- Serving
- Lunch · Dinner · Sunday lunch
- Features
- Real ale · Bar · Garden or terrace · Parking · Dogs inside
- History
- Eighteenth-century coaching inn; Donnington Brewery's since 2013
- Parking
- Free parking behind the pub.
Photos
The White Bear from the High Street Photo: Robert Powell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons 
The bay window and the bear Photo: judy dean, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr 
A bedroom
Location
Places to stay nearby
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The George Townhouse
Pubs · Shipston-on-Stour
A Grade II listed coaching inn on the High Street in Shipston-on-Stour, now a pub, restaurant and 15-bedroom hotel serving breakfast from 8am and an all-day menu, with Brakspear ales.
Dog-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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The Bower House
Inn · Shipston-on-Stour
A restaurant with five bedrooms in a Grade II listed Georgian townhouse on Market Place, Shipston-on-Stour, with a family suite that has a bunk room for two children.
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Verified Nov 2026
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The Howard Arms
Pubs · Ilmington
A 400-year-old stone inn on Lower Green in Ilmington, with a log fire, a restaurant, a snug and a garden, eight bedrooms and food from breakfast to dinner every day.
Dog-friendly
Verified Oct 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- The George Townhouse
- Mrs Browns Tea Rooms
- The Bower House 0.0 km away
- The Black Horse and Thai Kitchen 0.3 km away
Sights nearby
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St Edmund's Church, Shipston-on-Stour
Sight · Church · Shipston-on-Stour
St Edmund's is the parish church of Shipston-on-Stour, on Church Street: a fifteenth-century west tower with the rest rebuilt by G E Street in 1855. Inside are a sedilia, a stone pulpit and a bust of John Hart, a promoter of the town's trade. Grade II*; open through the week.
-
St Martin's Church, Barcheston
Sight · Church · Shipston-on-Stour
St Martin's Church in Barcheston, half a mile south-east of Shipston-on-Stour, is a small stone church of about 1200 with a leaning medieval tower, a Norman south doorway and the alabaster tomb of William Willington, wool merchant, and his wife Anne. Grade II*.