The Inn of Bree has been in the Butterbur family from time beyond record, and the current keeper bears, as have many of his ancestors, the worthy name of Barliman. The Prancing Pony enjoys a reputation as a meeting place where inhabitants and travellers can hear the latest news. In fact the old saying Strange as News from Bree has taken on a new life. Since the return of the King brought about increased traffic on both roads, the old Inn is a bustling place and the news is regularly infused with new bits and bobs of information.

Though various sections of the old Inn have been replaced or rebuilt over the long years, it is always reconstructed exactly as it was so that today it looks just as it did hundreds of years ago. Those who have studied The Red Book will recognize the description of the Inn at once. “Even from the outside the inn looked a pleasant house to familiar eyes. It had a front on the Road, and two wings running back on land partly cut out of the lower slopes of the hill, so that at the rear the second-floor windows were level with the ground. There was a wide arch leading to a courtyard between the two wings, and on the left under the arch there was a large doorway reached by a few broad steps. The door was open and light streamed out of it. Above the arch there was a lamp, and beneath it swung a large signboard: a fat white pony reared up on its hind legs. Over the door was painted in white letters: THE PRANCING PONY by BARLIMAN BUTTERBUR.”

The Inn itself has three storeys and many windows. Rooms are maintained for the comfort of hobbits in the north wing still, on the ground floor with round windows. The big common-room with a blazing log-fire, three lamps hanging from the beams, and benches all around is the favorite gathering place in Bree. Men, Dwarves, and Hobbits mingle freely to enjoy a meal, a mug, the news or a bit of story and song. Now and then an Elf appears. Rangers also are to be found, though these days they are not regarded with the suspicion that was their lot in earlier times before the return of the King.

"They were washed and in the middle of good deep mugs of beer when Mr. Butterbur and Nob came in again. In a twinkling the table was laid. There was hot soup, cold meats, a blackberry tart, new loaves, slabs of butter, and half a ripe cheese: good plain food, as good as the Shire could show, and homelike enough to dispel the last of Sam’s misgivings (already much relieved by the excellence of the beer)."

- Fellowship of the Ring