Yew Tree Inn, Stoke-On-Trent

Visited in May 2010 Situated somewhat incongruously between an ugly massive cement works and some quarry factories, the inside of The Yew Tree really does look like a cross between the Antiques Roadshow and Steptoe's junkyard. It's an old stone built building situated off the A523 and, with no hanging pub sign and seemingly no real effort to attract custom ( no sandwich boards etc and nothing really to encourage you in ), it's easy to miss, although the large yew tree outside in front of the pub helps. Previous posters - especially that intrepid Captain Cook of the pub going world, Roger B - have more than adequately described the delights that await you once you cross the threshold into the pub. Myself, I was particularly impressed with the working polyphons, some fine Jacobean furniture and the collection of old radios. Note also the old penny farthing bicycle hidden behind a wooden settle. In contrast to Roger however, I didn't find landlord and collector par excellence, Alan, particularly engaging or welcoming at all. Perhaps I got off on the wrong foot at the outset. My friendly and good-humoured opening remark of "Blimey, it's a bit difficult to find, isn't it ?!" was countered by a rather brusque and disagreeable "no" and then telling me that it's only 4 and a bit miles from Alton Towers and that people from all over the world had managed successfully to find this pub over the years. He didn't seem desperately welcoming to later arrivals either. Whilst in negative mode, I ought to mention the smell from the gents toilets, which really does need addressing. For the record, in case anyone's interested, beers on were Burton Bridge Bitter, Rudgate Mild and Bass. The first two - both at a very reasonable £ 2.00p per pint - were in splendid form. The cash register, reminiscent of the one in Open All Hours, is yet another throwback to earlier days. On the bar were a few home made pork pies and a glass jar of pickled eggs. The pub is listed in the 2010 CAMRA Good Beer Guide where the commentary says "there cannot be another pub like this". It also regularly appears in more general pub guides - eg The Good Pub Guide, and a 25 year certificate is on display. It also appears in the "Strangest Pubs in Britain" book. Don't forget to sign the visitors book - situated by the entrance on an old school desk - when you finally come to leave. This is most definitely a must visit pub and I would encourage you to visit and experience it for yourself when you possibly can, but you might be advised to refrain from telling Alan that it's difficult to find !

Not the easiest pub to find being tucked in between the surrounding industrial works (and the SatNav won’t help much) but persevere and you will encounter one of the most amazing if rather eccentric pub experiences going. The old farmhouse style building appears to be a typical rustic country pub from the outside but once through the door you enter a world that makes Antiques Roadshow look like a village jumble sale. The pub has been in the family for decades and the current owner, the charismatic serial hoarder Alan, (who has been here for nearly 50 years himself and took the pub over from his mother) has spent the best part of his life scouring antique shops and car boot sales which has resulted in a pub that resembles an explosion at Steptoe & Sons junk yard. The pride of place goes to the 8 Polyphons (a sort of Victorian jukebox for the uninitiated) that have been restored to full working order (make sure you have lots of 2ps with you when you go). There are also working Pianolas, a huge collection of grandfather clocks, numerous commemorative jugs, plates and mugs, antique firearms, butter churners, air raid sirens, weighing machines, bottles, gas masks, faded newspaper cuttings, adverts, signs, 1970’s Pirelli calendars, radios, penny farthings, rocking horses, a 3000 year old Greek Vase and even a pair of Queen Victoria's stockings amongst the fantastic collection of assorted bric-a-brac. If you are lucky and interested enough (and it is hard not to be), you will more than likely find yourself being enthusiastically taken on a guided tour by Alan who will point out the rarities and oddities. The furniture includes a stunning collection of antique and unusual pews/settles, many of them elaborately carved and one with a spectacular marble back. One room has a selection of 60’s style dimple topped tables. There are 3 functioning rooms with low ceilings and open fires and one with a dart board in case you forget that this is actually a fully functioning community pub. A fourth room to the left of the main entrance is cluttered up with bits and pieces that have yet to find an appropriate display spot. The beers may appear almost secondary in such a place but the 3 ales (Bass, Burton Bridge and a mild that I didn’t note) were well kept and, in line with the pub in general, the Carling dispenser was also a 1970’s relic, not out of place alongside the Watneys lampshades. The till is of course a shiny old pre-decimal “kerching” job with all the knobs and buttons and you still expect a pint to cost 5 shillings (sadly the prices, although reasonable, are a little more modern). To add to the ambience, the music is also a throwback to the 30’s and 40’s and gives it a real authentic old time feel. Go there, enjoy the beers, the welcome, the surroundings and, after you have comtemplated on who does the dusting and how much is the insurance, sign the visitor’s book (it is on an antique school desk at the entrance). After a visit to this unique place where even the cobwebs are a highlight, other pubs will never appear to be the same again.