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Hobby Horse end of The Metropole Hotel, 2026	Picture source: David Gormley
The Hobby Horse was situated on The Esplanade. The “hobby horse" is a decorated boat like float which leads a procession through Minehead each year on the eve of May Day. Origins are vague (some say to ward off Vikings), but it seems the parade was first held in 1830. The inn took its name from the event. It was opened in one end of the existing Metropole Hotel c1971 and used the grand rooms at the station end of the hotel with a public bar and the ballroom for occasional music events. Other pubs and the arrival of Butlins in 1962 began the decline of the pub. Final fling of the dice was offering B&B. The pub saw the 2022 hobby horse event prior to closing 31st May that year.
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