Shave Cross Inn, Bridport

This charming thatched inn is apparently 700 years old and was a resting place for pilgrims and monks on their way to the church in Whitfield Canonicorum in Edward III’s reign. The name comes from the tonsure trimming which took place while the monks stayed here. Nowadays you enter not by the front but through an archway at the side to the delightful garden, and on entering the pub the bar is in front of you, with pub areas either side, a doorway to the ‘Shavers Restaurant’ to the far left, and to the far right another door takes you to a long room housing what is apparently the country’s oldest thatched skittle alley, as well as a pool table and jukebox. As a free house it makes a welcome change from the many Palmers’ establishments in the area. Its three ale pumps were serving Branscombe Vale’s Branoc (at £3.00) Four M’s (at £3.20) and Quay’s Marshwood Vale when we visited, which we variously drank and enjoyed. The menu was very impressive and included several dishes demonstrating the pub’s Caribbean connections, including Guyanese goat curry and Caribbean jerk chicken salad. Not cheap, but the exquisitely blended flavours in the latter made it well worth the £12.95 price tag. A fascinating blend of old and new, this 5-star rated inn is quite remote, hidden several miles of country lane from anywhere else, but is certainly worth seeking out. Our recent visit happened to coincide with the Wessex Morris Men (of which the landlord Roy appears to be one) in action in the garden, after which we found ourselves surrounded by them as we finished our meal in what was evidently their favourite room. Slightly disconcerting at first, but they won us over and we ended up thoroughly enjoying a bit of a knees-up with them. The pub is also a ‘mobile free zone’ - keen to abide by the spirit of things I volunteered the £1.00 fine because of the way I had taken notes for this review.

Official site of the Shave Cross Inn - www.theshavecrossinn.co.uk

Official site of the Shave Cross Inn - www.theshavecrossinn.co.uk