Olde England, Kingsley Park, Northampton

Official site of Olde England - www.theoldeengland.com

Official site of Olde England - www.theoldeengland.com

The Olde England has been operating as a pub for a year or two and has built up a good reputation. I'd been advised to visit both for the ale selection and the uniqueness of the pub. It certainly is unusual. You enter into a small room with wood clad walls, wooden floor boards and heavy rustic type furniture all kept warm by a large and efficient log burner. There isn't a bar though. Ahead is a narrow staircase which takes you past the kitchen and the bar is then a small hatch off the corridor which leads to the main upstairs room. This is rectangular and again fitted out with heavy rustic furniture and a warming log burner and was set up for eating on our visit as I'd guess is usual. I only caught a glimpse of the short but interesting menu but it was certainly proving popular on a Tuesday evening. The beer upstairs is on stillage with the only indication of what's available being pump clips stuck on the wall. Given that the 15 or so available ales at the upstairs bar are predominantly from local micros, a board with some sort of brief description may be useful but maybe the beer turns over too regularly to make this a practical option. There is also a staircase, to your right on entry, which leads down to the cellar where there is the only conventional bar in the pub although the 10 handpumps are behind a glass window to your right. There's another rectangular room down here which doesn't follow the theme of the rest of pub but is decorated with various pictures in keeping with the theme. The welcome's warm here and the pub seems to be staffed by knowledgable real ale enthusiasts, some complete with luxuriant beards. Games are readily available and there are packs of cards left on some of the tables. BEER: As mentioned, the bar upstairs has 15 constantly changing local micros on which included beers from Julian Church (Kettering), Nobbys (Guilsborough), Potbelly (Kettering), Frog Island (Northampton) and Whittlebury (Whittlebury) as well as from Growler and Milestone further afield. The cellar bar has 10 handpumps which on our visit were taken up with: Adnams Broadside, Dow Bridge (Catthorpe) Praetorian Porter, Castle Eden Ale, Oakham Bishops Farewell and JHB, Nobby's Guilsborough Gold, Newby Wyke Bear Island, Youngs Best and Vale Gravitas and Brill Gold. More of a national bias than the upstairs bar but with a couple of local brews thrown in. I tried the J. Church Cained and Unable upstairs and Praetorian Porter downstairs both of which were very good but the selection is incredible and includes some very good beers. I'd recommend a visit for both the range of ales and a look at the imaginative way that this former shop has been transformed. I'll certainly visit again for the beer and perhaps to try the food.

A highly unusual shop conversion at the edge of town with a vast selection of real ale and very popular for food.You enter into a small ground floor room,wood panelled and on different levels with traditional pub furniture but no sign of any bar.The steep stairs lead to the first floor kitchen ,loos and a small serving alcove where the selection of ales is noted by pump clips on the wall,on my trip 15 with 5 coming soon.Polypins are used up here but you cant see the stillage,the barman simply hands you your selection,which up here is dominated by Northamptonshire micros with multiple offerings from Potbelly,Nobby's,Whittlebury,Julian Church and Frog Island available on my trip.The room beyond the serving alcove has a wood burner and several large wooden tables many with reserved signs for the diners,so food can dominate in this section.We slipped back to the ground floor with it's nooks and crannies and another very warming wood burner. However it is important to descend down to the cellar bar,if it is open,for this is where the better selection of real ale exists drawn from 10 handpumps.The bearded barman was very knowledgeable and explained that his selection here was more dominated by "national "brands by which he meant not brewed in Northamptonshire !There is seating in a seperate section in the cellar where a flatscreen on the wall was off,and pictures of olde England adorned the walls.Eclectic rock tracks were playing at a reasonable volume,there are loos down here and a very charming little alcove but the lack of heating was an issue on a night when few people were populating the cellar,it all felt a bit gothic. Needless to say ale quality was top notch,I really enjoyed my Nobby's Ralph Revenge (upstairs) and Dow Bridge Praetorian Porter and Oakham Bishops Farewell (cellar),it's in the 2014 GBG. This pub is really unique and must be visited when in Northampton.By all accounts it gets very popular at weekends,and booking for food seems wise.I am hard pressed to think of any other pub with such a wide real ale choice,it's like a permanent beer festival.