The Royal Standard of England, Beaconsfield

The Royal Standard of England is one of a few pubs that claim to be the oldest in the land, and this place certainly wouldn’t look out of place in a medieval town. The single-track lane up to the pub has plenty of passing points, but judging by the size of the car park I bet it’s still a ball ache to get in and out during busy periods. My visit was on a recent drab and dreary weekday not long after lunch, so it was very quiet. I had some trouble trying to locate the entrance but walking past a few picnic tables and up the right-hand side of the pub I found the entrance that has an old door that I had to give a kick to release from its ill-fitting frame. Inside it was very dimly lit, to the point that I had to bend over and squint at the five hand pump clips on the centrally located serving counter to see the availability of Rebellion Brewery’s Roasted Nuts and IPA alongside Chiltern Brewery’s Pale and Beechwood as well as the house Royal Standard Bitter. I was the only customer at the counter, but I still had to wait while two members of staff had a heated conversation, ironically about serving customers better. I had to wait for a third member of staff to appear before I was eventually served. The pub itself has lots of seating areas including snugs, wooden beams and supporting columns, stained glass on external and internal windows, exposed stone walls and floor, low ceilings and high vaulted ceilings, thick wooden furniture, and more shields, weapons and suits of armour than you can shake a stick at, exactly what you’d expect in a grand supposedly 900-year-old inn. I ended up sat in a seating area up the left where there were rows of pews and a dartboard, it wasn’t the most comfortable space, but it was atmospheric. My favourite part of this visit was being taken back in time by a noisy bird of prey that was sat in a leafless tree with the pub as a backdrop, brilliant! The pub’s location dictates that I’ll probably never visit here again, but I’m glad that I have, and I’d recommend others to do the same.