Pints West 86, Summer 2010 - Bristol & District CAMRA

PINTS WESTCAMRA calling – in Thornbury!During the early months of this yearthere has been a surge in membershipof CAMRA in the area to the north ofBristol & DistrictBristol locally recognised as the SevernVale. The members there, though, felt abranch exceedsbit remote from the main membership ofthe Bristol & District branch and set in2,000 members!train a request for a sub-branch to coverIt only seems like yesterday (well, 2002) thatthis area, so that their enthusiasm andthe branch was very excited to have reachedenergies could be directed to a more localarea, avoiding the need for travellingbit over 30 years to achieve. Following a further1,000 members, which itself only took us along distances to meetings and events.boost to recruitment at the Bristol Beer FestivalThe sub-branch comprises roughlyin March 2010, we are pleased to announce thatthe area bounded by Thornbury in thethe membership of the Bristol & District branchnorth, Severn Beach in the south, thehas succeeded in doubling in well under a decadeRiver Severn in the west and the M5 inand now stands at around 2,100.the east.Doubtless this in part reflects national campaigningand the wider awareness and promotionThe Bristol & District branch agreedof CAMRA and real ale. However, it also reflectsto this request and, at a meeting inthe local success of branch activities such as theThornbury, Neil Halsall was elected chairBristol Beer Festival and our very own Pintsand Dave Cox the secretary of this newStood in the middleWest newsletter. Then there are the many pubsub-branch. The first proper meeting ofat the back is the newsurvey trips and brewery visits and of course ourthe new Severn Vale sub-branch was heldchair of the Severn ValePubs and BADRAG sub-groups. There is even aon 19th May at the Anchor in Thornbury.sub-branch of CAMRA,thriving sub-branch in Weston-super-Mare andNeil Halsall, and stoodFurther meetings have been arranged forthe beginnings of another in Thornbury.with his arms crossed16th June at the Plough in Pilning andNo one should kid themselves that the needon the left is Dave Cox,21st July at the Fox, Easter Compton,to campaign is over, but quality real ale is plainlythe new secretary.both starting at 8 o’clock. Both membersnow very popular and we have many excellentThe picture was takenpubs and breweries in our branch area as testamentto this. Members are always welcome toand visitors will be welcome.outside the Anchor Inn,Already there are plans being madeThornbury, where theirget involved in branch activities and we encouragethem to take part in the meetings and eventsfor social events including brewery visits.first meeting was held.listed in the diary pages of Pints West and What’sBrewing and on our website www.camrabristol.Thornbury Pubsorg.uk. Richard Brooks, Branch ChairmanBook review – Thornbury Pubs by George Ford.Amberley Publishing. £12.99.Iwas aware of the launch of this book some weeks before it becameavailable and I waited with anticipation to get my copy. Though Iam not from, nor have I ever lived in Thornbury, I spent a lot of timein the 1980’s and ’90’s drinking there with a crowd of friends and morelatterly with my wife who is a “Thornbury girl”.Back in those days there were nine pubs trading in Thornbury andI am pleased to say that the same ones still trade today. The pubs holdmany memories for me so as soon as I obtained my book I jumpedstraight into the present-day pubs section. There is a lot of historycontained in nine pubs in an old market town and at first I thought therewere gaps in the time period that they have served. However, I becamemore forgiving as it emerges that pubs such as the Swan date from thelate 1400’s and the Anchor from the late 1600’s so to capture detailedchronological accounts for these two pubs alone could fill two booksin their own right. There are some fascinating facts around the currentpubs such as the naming of the Plough, the explanation for the evolvedsprawling arrangement of the Knot of Rope and the on-going controversyaround the windows of the Royal George. Who knows about theconnection of the Full Moon in Stokes Croft to Thornbury’s pubs andtown? Well it’s all recorded in this book.I then returned to the beginning of the book and read the sectionson brewing, legislation and licensing, local social and industrial historyand the Temperance movement. The changes in the breweries’ supply ofbeer during the second world war was completely unknown to me andrepresents an intriguing deviation from one’s expectation. Further, themention of breweries such as Arnold, Perrett, Cheltenham, Ashton Gateand Daniel Sykes whets the nostalgic appetite.Sections three and four are about bygone pubs and other outlets.With nine lost pubs in the high street alone plus a further known sevenPage 8in close proximity,Thornbury certainlyhas a strong historyof pub culture.And then there are afurther half a dozenof unknown location.When one considersthe small populationof the town inpre-war years thenumber of pubs tradingat any one time isan exciting prospect.It is interesting tonote that most of thebygone pubs werein buildings that stillexist in other usestoday. Then followsan historic descriptionof off-salesestablishments andbeerhouses, andseveral appendicesof supporting information.I soon warmed to this book and thoroughly enjoyed reading it andI could easily relate to it with my (limited) knowledge of the town. Butthe content would appeal to anybody with an interest in pubs, social history,breweries or licensing trends.Mike Jackson