The Seymour Arms, Frome

A somewhat remote pub in a small village a few miles outside of Frome, it has a lovely outlook with views across rolling fields and a very old and traditional interior, which is, I believe, listed on Camra’s national inventory of historic pub interiors. That said, there is of course a fine line between historic and neglected and with very tatty wallpaper and a slightly musty smell in the left hand room along with clear signs of water ingress, this could definitely do with a bit of TLC. It consists of two rooms internally either side of a central corridor as well as a good sized garden to one side and a few picnic benches out the front. There is no bar counter here, instead the small hallway leads to a couple of serving hatches at one end. This looked like a cross between a railway ticket office perhaps and old shop front, with glazed windows above and the two windows that opened for service. There was no sign of any beer pumps or a listing of the current offerings, so the only option was to ask what was available. Décor wise, there were some sort of stone slabs on the floor, with blue wood panelling on the lower part of the walls and pale yellow paintwork above. The room to the left had a few long communal benches to sit at, as well as a small round table in one corner and a darts board in the other, whilst an old red brick fireplace was at one end. A further small hatch offered bar service, and through here it was possible to glimpse the beer pumps at the back of the tap room. The décor here was similar to the hallway with the exception of wallpaper in place of the yellow paint. The room to the right was entirely wallpapered, and had less in the way of seating. Instead there was a table skittles game and a bar billiards table. Beers on tap were Hop Back’s GFB and Cheddar’s Potholer, whilst the ciders were Rich’s Dry or Medium, or “canned Natch if you want something fizzy”!

Occupying a remote location in the Somerset countryside a few miles away from Frome, is The Seymour Arms, another fine example of a basic unspoilt, simple, rural pub. Outside on the stone wall an old small sign still advertises Ushers Fine Ales. Note also the old wrought iron pub sign projecting out from one corner of the building. The pub building dates back to the 1860’s. A central flagstoned corridor leads to a small bar counter with a two part sash window glazed screen in front. This small lobby in front of the counter appears to be the favoured location of the regulars. Either side of this corridor is a basic, no frills unspoilt room. The larger room is on the left and features fixed seating around the perimeter, half height turquoise painted wood panelling and a bar skittles set on a table in the middle of the room. Several books of photos on a shelf bear testimony to the fact that The Seymour Arms is clearly a pub at the heart of the local community, although it was very quiet on my recent midweek September lunchtime visit. The smaller room on the right is equally basic and features a bar billiards table. The pub is listed in CAMRA’s National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors. There’s a pleasant garden at the side, but the peace and tranquillity is somewhat spoilt by the high speed trains hurtling past at the bottom of the garden at frequent intervals. The pub sells more cider than beer. On my recent visit, it was not immediately obvious whether any real ale was available. Ushers has not been sold for years, but the longstanding elderly landlord, John, disappeared into the ground floor “cellar” and, after what seemed an eternity, reappeared with a pint of Butcombe Bitter at an exceptionally cheap £ 2.30p. With only one real ale and a basic simple interior, this pub won’t appeal to everybody. But if you like unspoilt, unaltered, rural pubs like this, where the occasional passing visitor receives a warm welcome, you should make the effort to get here – but, beware, it takes some finding