Victorian presence felt in house with attractive steps, covered porch and windows with deep shutters.

 At one time many country inns flourished in the area, but now only the sturdy and beautiful Red Rose Inn at West Grove is the only one still used as a "public place." In both look and feel, it retains much of the character of the earlier days when the public rooms of inns were doubtless scenes of high-spirited conviviality as recorded by the American painter John Greenwood.

Guests today are pleased to discover an interesting slice of local history at Red Rose Inn.
The legend became known in 1927 when the Conard-Pyle Company bought the Jennersville land to enlarge its operation. The old inn on the northwest corner of the crossroads was included in the sale. The owners discovered an interesting provision in an ancient deed. It provided for the annual payment of a red rose to the Penn family, if demanded, as part of this purchase. This proviso is recorded on an historical marker the Chester County Historical Society erected in 1947 in front of the Red Rose Inn. It reads, "In 1731, John, Thomas, and Richard Penn, proprietaries, granted 5000 acres to William Penn, grandson of the Founder of Pennsylvania, subject to the rental of 'one red rose on the twenty-fourth day of June if demanded.' In 1742 William Penn granted his tract to William Allen subject to his 'paying the red rose aforesaid yearly.' In 1748 William Allen sold 53 acres of this tract to Samuel Cross. Again the rental terms included one red rose. This marker is on the Samuel Cross property."

Sunlight fills burial grounds
where silence prevails.

An example of how the town's
architecture varies.
According to published reports, Robert Pyle revived this custom and paid the rental of the red rose to a descendent of William Penn in September, 1937. This payment has been made almost every year since. Usually a direct descendent of Penn had been present to receive the red rose. This is done in a public ceremony, generally on the Saturday following Labor Day, and attracts a large crowd.

For the past 20 or so years, the hardworking Covata family has overseen the reputation of the inn's long history and a restaurant that has been called a jewel.

Attractive, wood structure contrasts with rural surroundings.

 Let no one be surprised to find a rose or two on the table in front of you, summer or winter, at the Red Rose Inn. It's taken some two hundred and fifty years to perfect the color of the brick -Red Rose- on the outside. The walks are the same brick, and so are those on a path through a low maze of hedges to the porch.
The charm of the popular eatery seeps through the very boards of the floor. Five fireplaces often glow throughout the house. A tastefully done expansion includes a barroom carved as it was out of the old carriage house and installed with a bar out of a fine old Philadelphia mansion.

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