The following are transcripts from the Greenalls records of pubs in Cheshire.

The Cock
The Holly Bush
The Horns
The Leigh Arms

Little Leigh.

Of the three surviving public houses in Little Leigh, architecturally the Holly Bush is the oldest; but it is impossible to say which inn has been in existence the longest. The alehouse-keeper John Yarwood (1744) cannot be placed; nor can three of the four licensess for 1753, viz. John Drinkwater, John Guest and Richard Speakman, be identified with a specific house.

Licensees

Holly Bush
The replacement brickwork of the exterior of this wayside inn belies it's great age. Until 1 January 1960 this inn was the Bowling Green, and in the last century the Bartington Bowling Green. The green was on the opposite side of the (side) road [Ed. Willow Green Lane. It's just possible to see a raised flat area in the field]. Formerly the property of Lord Leigh of Stoneleigh, it was bought by Greenalls in 1918. [Ed. in an auction at the Crewe Arms Hotel, along with many other Little Leigh properties. Records and posters for auction at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.]
The house has neem run by the same family since at least 1777, and is one of the few remaining examples in the country of the centuries-old tradition of a public house being part inn, part farmhouse. In April 1990 the owners announced that at the end of May the landlord would retire and the Holly Bush would close as a licensed premises. The protests of heritage-concious citizens far and wide at the loss of Cheshire's last farmhouse-pub resulted in a delay in the decision of Vale Royal's Planning Committee. In June that committee rejected Greenall Whitley's application to de-license the property.

Licensees

Horns
The Horns has been owned by Greenalls since at least 1872. Formerly it stood on the main road, as did the Leigh Arms, until the diversion was built to the west. The east part of the house is the original with the plaque over the door: SME 1734. If the letters are displayed according to the same arrangement as those on the Bull's Head at Davenham (where the raised letter relates to the surname), the letter M may stand for 'Massey'.

Licensees

Leigh Arms
Until 1892 it was the Bridge. Like the Horns it formerly stood by the side of the main road. Previously part of Lord Leigh's Estate, it was bought by Matthew and Joseph Cunningham before 1921, and by Burtonwood Brewery in 1938.

Licensees