The Tudor Rose, Romsey

An old single roomed pub,very basic and unpretentious in its layout. there was a live band belting out Beatles and Shadows hits on my brief Sunday afternoon visit. Three beers were on Otter Summer Pale, Marstons 61 deep pale and Sharps Atlantic. A nice enough pub.

A very old small building, it started life as a guild hall in the 15th Century and is a sometime brothel. Lots of original beams, modern wood panelling and a tudor fireplace in the single bar, it also possesses the best cellar for beer keeping in Romsey. The name was changed from the Bugle when its ancient history was uncovered during a refit. In the 30 years I’ve known this pub it has had a few ups and downs and its recent history has been, well, interesting. It appears to be getting back on its feet but is still not the pub it was. Five hand pumps, on a recent visit they had a draught cider, Courage Best and Shepherd Neame Spitfire, the latter being extremely good. The oddly arranged furniture makes it a bit awkward to move about and to play darts requires some work by Pickfords, which is a bit strange in a dart trophy winning pub like this one. The toilets are all outside, the ladies being halfway up the suntrap yard, the men having a longer walk to the far end.