White Hart Hotel, St Albans Central, St. Albans

This is an excellent Tudor-era coaching inn built opposite the abbey on the old coaching road through the city. Current Covid protocols mean that to enter the pub, you have to pass under the archway leading from the road into a hidden courtyard which nowadays doubles up as a car park and small beer garden, before entering via the hotel reception area. The current layout is quite unusual, with two very small front bars behind which is the reception area that doubles as a pub overspill space with a large dining room to the rear. Each of the two front bars has its own separate entrance from the street, and both rooms have been carpeted and have wood panelling on the walls and access to a servery which bisects the two rooms. There are heavy drapes on the front windows, lots of old photos on the walls and shelves laden with ceramics and earthenware, all of which add to the traditional feel of the bar, although the full suit of armour stood in the front left corner might be a step too far in this regard! Doors at the rear of both bars lead into the reception, with the hotel desk over to the right and a couple of long tables with pew seating under wood panelled walls. A brick fireplace with a modern stove can be seen on one wall, Tudor-themed paintings adorn much of the wall space and a couple of ridiculous thrones stand against the back of the servery for no apparent reason. There is a blue plaque behind the reception desk which details the stay here of Simon Fraser – the last member of the aristocracy to be beheaded in this country, who apparently stopped here for the night on his way to the executioner. A final door to the rear of this room lead into a simple rectangular room with very nice wall panels and rows of standard seating that mark it out as the dining room. It’s quite a grand space that looks like it would be better used hosting grand banquets than serving fry-ups to bored hotel guests. For all of the impressive history of this place, things were marred somewhat by the incessantly inane pop soundtrack that chuntered away over the course of my visit. I was greeted by a very friendly lady who was both manning the bar and reception and led me through to the bar before detailing the ale range and taking my order. She apologised for the fact that they only had Adnams Ghost Ship as the sole real ale (£4.70 a pint), but with only three or four other punters in attendance, it was clear to see why they hadn’t risked putting any more on. The Ghost Ship turned out to be in pretty good shape which I was pleased with as lots of pubs seem to handle this beer very badly. I really liked this place and thought the history seeped out of every part of the building, making it a very interesting place to spend a little time exploring (social distancing permitting, of course!). I’d have liked to see it in full flow, with a decent crowd and a couple more beers on the bar, but that might have to wait for another time, as I’d happily pop back in here again in the future.

Characterful U-shaped hotel bar over two rooms with lots of wood panelling and wonky plaster walls. Suit of armour and two golden Tudoresque chairs/thrones in the rear reception area. Upright piano spotted. Three ales spread over the two bars, ‘Alban ale’ from the local Verulam brewery which was fine, Oakham (which most definitely wasn’t) and one from Adnams. Beware that these are not advertised in both bars so make sure you check what’s on before ordering. Very hit and miss on the beer but the interior makes it worthy of a quick stop.

Probably not the kind of place I would normally frequent , but it was good enough for the purposes of the pub crawl we were engaging in,a suit of Armour and a couple of thrones added some quirkiness to the proceedings. Initially disappointed with the beer on offer in the House beer Alban Ale and Adnams Southwold Bitter, until I spied another pump in the other bar, the more interesting Oakham Preacher, however as BF found out it was on its last knockings and promptly went and as such wasn't at its best.I would consider having another look in here if only to check out any Oakham beer that may be on.