The Bateman Arms, Leominster

Tris C left this review about The Bateman Arms

This was once a drovers’ inn, built around 1750 by former Lord Mayor of London, Sir James Bateman.
I’ve known this pub all my life as my grandparents lived nearby and we used to go to the Shobdon Airshow, first attended in the early ‘70s.
The interior is a bit non-descript and much smaller than expected. There’s a two-bar format on split levels: the lower room has modern laminate flooring, conventional furniture, munge coloured walls and a white Artex ceiling with exposed rafters; the presence of a TV (off) as well as a pool table and two dartboards demarcates this as the ‘games’ room’; the upper bar is carpeted. Older customers still looked like they were drawn from the droving classes, expletives flowing freely and at just around the 4.00pm opening time; otherwise, I’d expect customers to be sourced from the county’s only Miramar up the road.
Ales amounted to Butty Bach and HPA, £2.50 the half and in decent nick.
This isn’t a great pub, something of a disappointment, with plenty of superior competition locally; the presence of a decent half of cask rescues the place from being a ‘3’.

On 8^th May 2026 - rating: 4
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