The Railway, Billericay

The Railway is just down a slight hill from the rest of the High Street and can be found strangely enough next to the town's railway station. Entrance is via the side door, on which there is a sign stating that over 25's only are allowed in. This wasn't the only local pub I saw such a sign, which probably means they've had plenty of trouble late on weekend evenings. Locals were drinking in the front bar area, with the area to the right of the bar stretching back much further than I had anticipated. There is an outdoor drinking area to the side where you enter. Wibbler's Dengie IPA & Dark Star Hophead are the 2 regular beers. Not so local guests on our Saturday lunchtime visit were Rooster's Leghorn & Three French Hens & Skinner's Christmas Fairy. A picture on the wall near the toilets featuring West Ham gave a clue to the pub's sporting allegiances. Despite the over 25's sign, children are still welcomed during the daytime. A car park to the right-hand side is currently closed and a marquee is in place. This is one of 3 Billericay pubs in the current (2022) Good Beer Guide.

A Tuesday night visit to Billericay for football and a chance to tick this pub which is one of the three that appear in the 2017 GBG. 5 ales on the hand pumps, several from the local area. During my 2 hour stay I had several very good pints of Mighty Oak's Squeezebox @ 4.0%, a nice golden ale that was well kept. Large front area where the bar is which filled up as I spent my time here, to the rear is a large open area with tables and chairs lining the sides. Also has a large back garden which acts as the smoking area. A thoroughly nice pub with a pleasant welcome from the bar staff, a decent tick from the guide.

As can be seen from the pictures this is a Gray's house. Gray's are a small Essex based pub company that once had their own brewery in Chelmsford and stocked Greene King ales after the brewery closed in the mid 1970s. It's a red brick building on the South side of the bridge over the railway from the station. Inside it is a single room with the bar facing that curves around the area. The floor looked like it may be wood but I suspect was a laminate. There are six pumps selling four beers which on my visit were GK IPA, Deuchar's IPA, Woodforde's Wherry and Lincoln Green Sherwood. I went for the Sherwood (£3.30) which was a great pint in excellent condition and a new brewery to me. Happily the days when Gray's houses just sold Greene King ales are long gone and from what I can recall this one is fairly typical of their pubs. Their sister pub the Coach and Horses gets the GBG entry but this one is well worth a look.