A fascinating but dwindling list

Good evening,

     I spotted an interesting post on Paul Bailey's blog here about the resignation from the CAMRA (you've seen the CAMRA) of legendary unspoilt pub hunter Rodney Wolfe Coe.

It struck me that not only does the list he is renowned for compiling, the Classic, basic, unspoilt pubs of Great Britain, link together through its possession a wide range of unspoilt pub lovers over a huge area, but also that of those who have a copy, very few have thought to reprint them online. I think we (sic) are missing a trick.

Of course, there is the issue of whether RWC would mind. Given that his denouncement of CAMRA's dedication to the modern at the expense of the traditional, as its claimed he stated in a letter to Whats Brewing, it seems unlikely that he would have considered making his list an online tool, or that he would stumble across it via Google on a quiet evening. Its still his list though, irrespective of the level of perceived assistance he had in compiling it.

I picked my copy up in the Duke of York in Elton (above) years ago, and have carefully, erm, misplaced it since. I remember there were plenty of pubs I had never visited, but a version I discovered online last year lists plenty I had never even heard of, testimonies to the existence of which linger on only by virtue of the scantest of references in disparate bodies of text across the worldwide web.  

More frustratingly, having found a copy of the 1994 list online, the address www.btinternet.com/~stannett/worth-a-visit/old_pubs.htm 
no longer works.  Having been known to me for a long time its particularly frustrating that I never thought to copy it.

A quick look around the Tinterweb shows a copy of Worcestershire CAMRA's Pint Taken magazine, which, on Page 13 of the Winter 2005 edition mentions a final 11th edition of the list, now featuring just 12 pubs! Since I don't have Word and this is a PDf I have saved what I hope is a "picture" of page 13 which, with any luck, will be shown below. Apologies to Worcester CAMRA if it does work. Apologies to everyone if it doesn't... (there is also a link here )

I don't know how to make the text larger, sorry!

It's noticeable that there are a few pubs that I know are on one of the lists that I have never been to, and now never will. The Welcome Stranger at Herstmonceaux, Eagle at Skerne, Fir Tree at Cornsay Colliery, and, having to do this from memory, I think the Dun Cow at Billy Row in County Durham are all pubs I've either only stood outside, or didn't know about the existence of in time to visit. Frustrating as this information is, the comparison between just two of the lists is a fascinating study.

I wonder therefore, given that the leaflet allegedly started out with over 160 pubs, if anyone would be willing to dig out the editions in their possession and copy them into the blog comments (or better still blog or host them and post the link), or, whether anyone out there knows RWC and would ask for his thoughts on such an idea? It would be fantastic, whatever the route taken, to arrive at having this invaluable picture of our fast disappearing pub heritage in one place.

It would certainly be interesting to find out whether potential inclusions that I also never got to, such as the Lodge at Shirland and Queen Adelaide on Snelston Common, both in Derbyshire, ever made the mark.

Finally, in response to the question posed at the end of Paul Bailey's blog :

of the pubs listed, the Welcome Stranger, Eagle at Skerne, Red Lion at Llandovery, Red Lion at Stoke Talmage, Horse and Trumpet at Medbourne and Seven Stars at Halfway House no longer trade, and the Bath in Cheltenham, Three Tuns in Hay on Wye (now a pub and restaurant, shudder...)  and even the Sun at Leintwardine, have had varying levels of change that would or might disbar them from a 2012 list. Hope that helps.

Wee Beefy.

 

More positive news perhaps?

Hello,

  last month I reported that the fantastic but slightly dishevelled New Inn at Hadlow Down in Sussex appeared to be destined for some dreadful enforced "renaissance" from pub and defunct hotel to a restaurant with swanky new hotel and crappy landscaping thrown in. Regrettably in the world of unspoilt pubs, this is not exactly unusual.

Buildings, ignoring the inconvenience of the pub within them, are often seen as piles of cash rather than  redoubtable retainers of atmosphere and shared history who's preservation serves to remind future visitors of the stories once told and played out in their walls. The Horse and Trumpet in Medbourne, Rutland ,sadly a pub I never got to visit, was a good example of the worth of the location and the mass of building creating a price tag so high as to render any suggestion of continuing its use as a basic public house unfeasible. I understand the hours were restrictive and trade had diminished, and the owners (or owners family) decided to call it a day.

Admittedly from the photo's in the article on its closure it was a large building, of which the pub was a small part - literally, and in terms of financial contribution -  but once it went on the market there was only ever going to be one outcome. (in fact it made the transition to an up-market restaurant, but just like the Crooked Billet in Stoke Row Oxfordshire, thats still a travesty. I understand the restaurant has now closed as well.)

General repairs?

However, sometimes a pub does not have to simply slip into oblivion. My good friend Steve lives in Hastings, approximately 1000 miles South in "Sussex" or similar, and he reports a new lease of life for a listed pub on the National Inventory here.

The Havelock, or the General Havelock, is in Hastings and it would appear from different sources, has previously garnered a rather dubious reputation as a place you wouldn't go to read a paper and sup an IPA from a handled beer mug; or for any other reason (and I am not saying that any of those constituent parts are essential in making a pub good).  The photo on the Heritage Pubs site Have a look supports this slightly in that it shows the outside to be quite unprepossessing but the interior, particularly the tiled murals, looks amazing.

It appears that delays have befallen a refurbishment of said pub due to its historical legacy. I think this could be seen as a positive development, and is no doubt linked to its English Heritage listing, if nothing else. Steve suggests that on reopening the pub will be selling real ale, which is always good in an unspoilt pub, and always assuming the essential character and layout is not lost, whilst the magnificent tiling is retained, this could be a real bonus for the people of Hastings, and the UK's pub heritage stock.

I have asked Steve to send me photo's when it reopens.....

And finally...

I have at last found out who RWC, author of the excellent "Classic basic unspoilt pubs of Great Britain" is. Now, all you unspoilt pub aficionados and obsessives will no doubt already know this, but I never knew more than his initials. They stand for Rodney Wolfe Coe (sorry, no idea if hyphen required). This little nugget of info enabled me to find a few more interesting links on the internet (where everything is true remember) and is a satisfying final piece in the jigsaw of understanding who the author was, and whether or not he is still traveling around Britain's best pubs.

I have to credit both Curmudgeon, for a post mentioning the Hop Pole at Risbury (which I was Googling) which led to one respondent mentioning RWC, and the person whom posted that comment, Paul Bailey, who has a beer blog himself. Thanks to both for helping me unravel the mystery.

And crucially, thanks to RWC himself for helping  inspire me and many others to seek out traditional unspoilt pubs in the UK.

Wee Beefy