The Anchor Inn, Hastings

Dating from 1798 as a pub (not 1680 as Whatpub would have you believe. That was another Anchor Inn which once stood outside the Old Town wall, near the fish market, but now long gone), this is the oldest or second oldest pub (depending on who you talk to) left in the town of Hastings. There is a main bar room plus a separate dining room area. The main bar room is a series of semi-knocked through rooms that surround the central bar as described below and as Steve puts it, basically a large room with the bar in the middle. One is led to wonder what a much more interesting pub it would be if it had remained as the multi roomed space it originally was. But there are some nice features, such as the inglenook fireplace and wood burner and low beamed ceilings do exude a bit of charm. Then there is an additional dining room space down some steps off this room. Four hand pumps with Bishops Finger, Spitfire and Whitstable Bay with the fourth unused for my visit. I didn’t really warm to this one but that maybe because this was the third of three Sheps Pubs in close proximity, with 9 pumps out of 12 in operation between them, but only four of their beers to be had, and nothing in here that I hadn’t already seen in the other two. So, I sat here with a disappointed head on and the thought that Shep clearly do not expect punters to visit more than one of their pubs. Fortunately, my next and last pub visit in Hastings ended the day on a high. Therefore, if you only have time to visit one pub on George Street, then my advice would be to walk past all three of these and go to the Albion at the end of the lane.