Esher has seen some famous visitors in it’s time and many of them seem to have stopped at the Bear. The Coaching route from London to Portsmouth featured the Bear as the second stop and thus often drew the famous and aristocratic, although throughout the 18th century it saw mainly officers on their way to and from the naval stations. Nelson stopped here on the way to Portsmouth and played bowls in the bowling alley that existed then. During Queen Mary’s reign, it was a favourite place for her to wait for her husband, King Philip of Spain, when he landed at Portsmouth. Charles II, James II and William of orange all used to call in on their to Hampton Court.

The Bear’s proximity to the stately home of Claremont has also brought some royal and interesting visitors. The exiled French King Louis Philippe lived at Claremont from 1848 until his death, his staff stayed at the Bear on his arrival, and for years a pair of jackboots belonging to Louis Philippe’s postboy were displayed in the bar, although why he left them behind was never made clear. In 1816, Princess Charlotte and Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg came to live at Claremont and on moving in; they passed under a triumphal arch erected from the Bear to Nappers Corner.

The present building is mainly 18th century, although originally it was a hunting lodge owned by the Earl of Warwick, Warwick the King Maker. From this the sign is derived, as the Bear and Ragged Staff was the crest of Warwick. After Warwick’s death, his butler leased the now partly dismantled lodge in about 1460 from the family and started an inn with the sign of the Bear and Ragged Staff. The Ragged Staff was removed during Henry VIII’s reign after the Warwicks fell from favour and the sign was reduced to a non-rampant common bear. So it remained, apart from a short break in the 18th century when the pub was as the Brown Bear.

Young’s & Co bought the Bear in 1888. In 1890, Kelly’s Directory said it had been established in 1529 and added: “Coaches stop daily during the season, appointed posting house under Royal seal; stabling for 100 horses.” A hundred years after it had became a Young’s house, in 1988, the Bear was completely renovated, with many of its original features restored.