The Black Horse Inn, Lewes

Situated at the Western end of town, the Black Horse is far enough from the bustle of tourists to make it a peaceful haven compared to some of the more well known pubs in town. Set in a Grade II listed building, the pub has a large open front room and a smaller space past the bar to the rear. The front bar area has bare floorboards with some high tables, including some made from old barrels, and high stools. The servery is opposite the front door and there are fireplaces on each side wall; one with a TV screen above it, the other beneath a wonderful old pub sign. There are some nice curved banquettes under the front bay windows and there is also a bar billiards table and shove ha’penny board to the left of the bar. On the right hand side there was the obligatory Toad in the Hole table and the wall on this side was papered with old advertisements and had a beer bottle collection running along a high shelf. Access to the rear room is via a narrow space past the right hand side of the servery, taking you to some button backed seating arranged around another fireplace. Music was playing throughout my stay and a young lady with an acoustic guitar was setting up in preparation for a performance later in the evening. There was an excellent beer selection on the row of hand pumps, with the options on my visit comprising Greene King Abbot Ale, Morland Old Speckled Hen, Turners Golden Ale, 1648 Signature Ale, White Horse War Horse and Nelson Flagship IPA with Dark Star Meltdown available on stilage. One real cider, Biddendens Bushels, was also available and the otherwise standard keg range included Noble Lager. My pint of War Horse was very well kept and I was served by a very friendly and welcoming barman. It would be quite easy to visit Lewes and miss out on this pub, but in my opinion it is one of the best in town and certainly merits the short walk from the town centre.

The refit is complete and by all accounts, a great success. The fixtures and fittings are all well chosen and the interior decorators resisted the temptation to go pastel throughout. Fantastic selection of beers on the bar, so much so that we played a joker and stayed for 2. Aside from the wedding party pre loading, the pub was quiet on a Saturday lunch. Footie and Cricket was being shown and was accompanied by a running comentry from the Doncaster born bar man. The toilets were probably the cleanest and most modern of any I have ever been in in any pub. the back room now looks like it is mostly reserved for diners, but the main event is the beer, as it should be. Well worth walking right past the Pelham go get out to this slightly off the beaten track boozer.

Undergoing a fairly major refurbishment. No indication that it will reopen as anything other than a pub.

The Black Horse Inn is a decent single room boozer with large bay windows either side of the central entrance. The bar is located on the back wall and is stocked with a limited range of standard draught products. There are six hand pumps, but four of these were unused during my Thursday evening visit. The two working pumps were drawing Greene King IPA and Hythe’s 1863 which I really enjoyed. Food is served and the main meals come in at around £9, but I know not of the quality. On the left hand side of the pub there is a dartboard and bar billiards along with the local Toad-in-the-Hole game. I do not recall seeing any TVs, but there was a cd playing quietly in the background. There is an advertised beer garden out the back that I did not visit and accommodation is available here. I thought that this pub was clean and the old school governor was very friendly and was keen to offer me advice on where to go during my crawl of the area. I’d have no problem returning here and would go out of my way for the friendly welcome.