The Church Inn, Ludlow

Hidden down an alley behind the Butter Cross market. Its a mid level dining pub - not gastro and comfortable for the tourist. Ludlow Gold in fine condition. Only thing unique was a repurposed church bell in an alcove by the bar which they use to call last orders. I can't imagine too many drinkers only would be in to hear it. Smartly anonymous.

Decent place which is geared more towards food. There are 3 ales on however - Ludlow Gold, Best and Butty Bach. The Best was fine. I enjoyed sitting in the beer garden of the church. Happy to have called in.

A nice corner pub/restaurant with a nice beer garden area in the Church rounds. The interior has lost much charm as it is now a singular space that accommodates drinker and diner. Green decor and eclectic art feature. Mature clienele and decent service. Three ales on with a very good Ludlow Best. Nice stop for one.

A reasonably attractive pub right in the centre of Ludlow, but largely obscured by the Butter Cross so it’s quite easy to miss. It claims to be from the 14th century, but it certainly doesn’t look this old from the outside, and even less so when you get in. To be fair, there are some chunky old beams on the ceiling which are perhaps remnants of the original building, but it’s clearly been renovated at some point with fresh plasterwork on the walls and retains little of it’s original character, I would have thought. There are old black wooden boards on the floor, khaki green paintwork on much of the walls and a few seemingly random pieces of artwork dotted around, as well as a small shelf with a couple of puzzles. Padded bench seating was fitted around the perimeter, as well as a couple of old church pews and regular chairs. Virtually all the tables were taken by diners on our recent Friday evening visit, and although there was some space to linger around the bar counter, the only seating options here were two high stools. Beers on tap were Best and Gold from the local Ludlow Brewing Company along with Wye Valley Butty Bach, whilst a fourth pump appeared unused. Ciders meanwhile were Henry Weston’s Vintage and Aspall’s. Overall, I was a bit disappointed with this, there was far too much emphasis on food and it was lacking much in the way of any character.

Originally the Exchange Vaults Inn and grade II-listed, this pub dates back to the 18th century, so would appear not to be as old as propaganda would suggest. The current name was applied in 1979 due to the pub’s proximity to St. Laurence’s Church, where the ashes of A Shropshire Lad’s author – A. E. Housman – were scattered. New name in frosted glass initials to the picture windows looks a biit cheap, but this is as mentioned – fireplace and some exposed unpainted rafters aside – a place which has been comprehensively modernised; with duck egg green and white colour scheme, some ‘bookshelf’ wallpaper, pale grey carpet (bare boarded to the small bar area) and restaurant-style furniture; the only item of heritage was a log burning stove in a fine fireplace. Trendy décor came courtesy of some pump clips in framed boxes, earthenware pots and pumpkins on display, mouldering away 13 days after Halloween. Entertainment took the form of an AOR soundtrack at a barely audible volume from the likes of Huey Lewis and the News, Toto and The J. Geils Band; what wasn’t so entertaining was the potty mouthed pair of customers, one giggling away like a kookaburra; otherwise the pub was near full on a Monday, customers were of mixed age and local, some genteel families, some in work clothes and almost all eating. One item of interest was the three urinals fashioned from repurposed beer kegs, with witty slogan above (see photo). A cask choice amounted to Hobsons Bitter and Old Prickly, Butty Bach and Ludlow Gold at just £2.05 a half and very nice, served by a friendly and efficient waiter; a return visit found the Hobsons Best (just £2.00 a half) equally good. This place is much more of a trendy restaurant than pub and a bit anodyne; the minority unwelcome customer vocabulary renders the place less than ideal for family dining visits.