Pints West 86, Summer 2010 - Bristol & District CAMRA

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Page 18PINTS WESTBATH & BORDERS BRANCHBATH AND SURROUNDING VILLAGESBarley, 32 Bathwick Street, BathThis attractive roadside pub near Sydney Gardens has been takenover by enthusiastic landlords Nick Etheridge and Jamie Mealing, whountil December ran the Rising Sun on Grove Street. The new landlordstook over the pub at the beginning of March and have extended openinghours to all day. Nick and Jamie promoted cask beer when they were atthe Rising Sun and are planning to do the same at the Barley. Regularbeers on offer at present include Otter. 6X and Speckled HenBath Tap (re-named the Nineteenth House), St JamesParade, BathFormer hotel manager David Rolfe has turned the Bath Tap in StJames’s Parade into the Nineteenth House. The new name comes fromits house number in the road.Mr Rolfe has spent two months refurbishing the premises. Using asingle piece of sample wallpaper as his inspiration he has restored periodfeatures and, by making maximum use of the entire building, has createda stylish but homely environment.The interior consists of a bar, cellar lounge, and (due to open ataround the time of writing)a separate dining room withSunday lunch space for sixtycovers. In July Mr Rolfe hopesto open the library on thebuilding’s second floor and bythen aims to have three roomsavailable for hire for corporatemeetings, parties and dinersfor up to thirty people.Northend Inn, BatheastonBrains Surgery, 36-37 Dafford Street,Larkhall, BathThis pub, on the easternoutskirts of Bath, has recentlybeen sold and, we believe, isnow available to let as a pub.Northend Inn, 41Northend, BatheastonThis pub serving thecommunity of Northend (justnorth of Batheaston), which reopenedin the autumn of 2009following a major campaign bylocal residents, may be underthreat of closure again. Thelandlady has sent a letter to localresidents saying, in essence,that not enough people arevisiting the pub. She is askingthem for suggestions on howto get more customers throughher door.Porter Butt, York Place,London Road, BathA group of squatters,known as the Black Cat group,have moved into this pub,closed and empty since latelast year, in the hope of settingup a social centre. Meanwhileplans have been submitted bynational firm Richer Sounds toPorter Buttconvert the premises into a hi-fi and TV store. Local Councillor DavidDixon has met with the members of the Black Cat group, who havealready been evicted from a number of other buildings, to explain aboutthe plans for the store and see if a reasonable solution could be met. Heis hopeful the council might open up a dialogue with a view to findingthe group a proper home so that they do not have to continue to squat inempty properties.Raven, 6-7 Queen Street, BathBath & Borders Branch City Pub of the YearThis popular city-centre pub has been awarded the accolade of thebranch’s City Pub of the Year for 2010, running a close second in theoverall branch Pub of the Year competition, which has been won by theGriffin in Frome. The Raven, which was also the branch’s Pub of theYear in 2006, occupies an eighteenth-century building in the heart ofthe city. It serves six real ales. Three of these are brewed exclusivelyfor the pub by Blindman’s brewery whilst the three others are regularlychanging guests often featuring many rarities. The same beer range isavailable on both the ground-floor and in the quieter first-floor bar. Thepub runs mini beer festivals throughout the year and is famous for itsselection of sausages and Pieminister pies. It’s also worth noting that theRaven is one of the few pubs in Bath to servefood Sunday evenings.White Horse, Shophouse Road,Twerton, BathIt was the perfect excuse for a drink. Regularsat the White Horse were able to justify theirextra pint by saying it was all for their localchurch. Jason Clarke, the landlord of the WhiteHorse, had managed to secure two free barrelsof beer to sell in support of the church.An open mic night was held on 2nd March,with beer selling for £2.50 a pint, to help raisefunds for St Michael’s Church, which had beenattacked by vandals two weeks before. Theincident, which saw several of the building’shistoric stained glass windows smashed, hadsaddened residents but has also had the effect ofboosting community spirit in the area.The Reverend Richard Wilson welcomedthe efforts from the pub and thanked all thosewho had offered their support. The GenesisCharity shop in High Street has set up a moneybox for donations and an art group, which meetsin Rose Cottage, also clubbed together to paintmurals with sunshine and flowers on the protectiveboards that were used to cover up windows.
PINTS WESTFrome. Effectively the brewery tap for Milk Street brewery, the Griffinis situated in the older part of Frome known as Trinity or Chinatown.The brewery itself occupies a former small cinema behind the pub. Thesingle bar retains original features including open fires, etched windowsand wooden floors. A stained glass Griffin can be seen behind the bar.Live music is played regularly at the pub and a small garden out back isopen all year. The pub has a wonderful atmosphere which, once one issettled in, makes it difficult to leave.Old Globe Inn, 31 Vallis Way, FromeThis friendly unpretentious locals’ pub, south of the town centre, hadbeen closed for some time. We understand that it has now been sold as ahouse.Hungerford Arms, Farleigh HungerfordEAST SOMERSETHungerford Arms, Farleigh HungerfordThis roadside pub with commanding views of the river Frome valleyhad closed in around early January and was for a time boarded up. Thisis the second closure in recent times. It has recently re-opened.Tucker’s Grave, near FaulklandThe freehold of this uniquely traditional pub, situated in gloriousisolation on a crossroads between the villages of Norton St Philip andFaulkland, has been on the market for some time. Recently, however, ithas been taken off the market as the owners and landlords have decidedto wait for better times.Angel Inn, 1 King Street, FromeThis town-centre pub has been closed for some time. We understandthat it is to be refurbished as a restaurant.Griffin, Milk Street, FromeBath & Borders Branch Pub of the YearWe are proud to announce that the Griffin is the Bath & Bordersbranch Pub of the Year for 2010. This a well-deserved award for thissmall, recently smartened-up, drinkers’ paradise on the outskirts ofShip Inn, Oldford, near FromeThis attractively situated roadside pub remains closed. The freeholdis still up for sale.Fir Tree Inn, 140 Frome Road, RadstockThis large roadside pub has been closed as a pub for some time. Weunderstand that a planning application for change of use has been turned.Some land associated with the pub has been sold for use by the nearbysecondary school.Sun Inn, Whatley, near FromeThis fairly isolated pub has been closed for some time. The ownerhas, we believe, attempted to lease out the building as a pub but has attractedno or little interest.WEST WILTSHIREKing’s Arms, 24 CoppiceHill, Bradford-on-AvonThis town-centre GreeneKing-owned pub closed recentlyfor a tidy-up and, much smartened,re-opened in April as amore food-orientated venue.Duke, Westbury Road,BrattonNew landlords took over theDuke in around August 2009.This two-bar pub remains essentiallyunaltered and caters wellfor locals and diners alike. Thebeer range consists normally ofthree Moles beers and a regularlychanging guest sourced from Kings Arms, Bradford on Avonother local breweries. Well worth a visit.Reputedly Bath’s oldest inn steeped intradition and renowned the world over.Described by The Campaign for Real Ale as a rareand unspoiled pub interior of outstanding historicinterest and listed on theNational Inventory of Heritage Pubs.Serving traditional English ales including:Bellringer brewed in Bathand Burton’s favourite brew Bass.23 THE VINEYARDS, PARAGON, BATH Tel 01225 425072Duke Inn, Bratton c1901King’s Head, Chitterne, near WarminsterThis pub is technically in the Salisbury branch area but only a littlebeyond the boundary of the Bath & Borders branch. The King’s Head,the only pub in the isolated village of Chitterne on Salisbury Plain, hasrecently re-opened following several months of closure. A massive refurbishmenthad to be carried out because of the damage caused by burstpipe during the recent cold winter. The refurbishment is ongoing and thelocals are returning. There are two real ales on permanently.(Continued overleaf)Page 19
Page 5 and 6: PINTS WESTThe plight of pubs in sou
Page 7 and 8: News has reached Bristol CAMRA Pubs
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Page 11: PINTS WESTavailable at any one time
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Page 17: PINTS WESTto, er, Stapleton Road.Oh
Page 21 and 22: The real ale scene in Bath is as li
Page 23 and 24: News fromCotswold Springrecent visi
Page 25 and 26: GB organic certification 5trigued t
Page 27 and 28: PINTS WESTKelham Island Tavern -nat
Page 29 and 30: PINTS WESTPints out WestTaking the
Page 33 and 34: A new venturefor WickwarThe reconst
Page 35 and 36: Branch diaryDiary of the Bristol &

Pints West 86, Summer 2010 - Bristol & District CAMRA

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