ReviewThis is a large Banks’s (Marston’s) community pub which I think dates back to at least the 1920’s. It has a small public bar on the right of the building and a large open plan lounge on the left, the buildings layout is a little strange as the only way to get from one room to the other is to go outside. The bar has a very traditional working class feel to it with terracotta tiled floor, a small bar counter on the left and a pool table at the back, there is a large flat screen TV, sporting trophies and memorabilia on the walls. As you enter the lounge, there is a small brick bar counter on the right which curves in and out like a shallow S Shape. This room has a fake (but well done) olde worlde look to it with low beams, half timber and white walls and a cast iron range cooker at the back on the left of the room which is covered with plastic flowers so as you can barely see it! There were two TVs that looked as old as the hills, they were turned off at the time and I would be surprised if they work at all.
Regular Ales are Banks’s Mild and Bitter with two changing guests (one in the bar and one in the lounge) from the Marston’s portfolio such as Brakspear, Jennings, Ringwood or Wychwood beers.
I really like this place, the bar is a great example of an authentic 1920’s working men’s public bar, only things missing were any flat caps or whippets. The fake olde worlde lounge has been done as well as any I’ve seen before with beams that look genuine, so it feels very cosy and homely. In the lounge there was a good sized menu of typical pub fare which was very reasonably priced. An untouched gem, long may it remain so.
