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Disappointment of the week with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Image posted by paulof horsham
Submitted on Saturday, 25th September 2021
With picture contributions to 4577 other pubs
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Detail Pages
Ye Olde Pump House, Hastings
Hastings
TN34 3EE
Served areas
Reviews of Ye Olde Pump House (Average Rating: 5½ of 10) see review guidelines
Steve of N21 left this review about Ye Olde Pump House
Well I can help clear up the issue about the age of this pub by pointing everyone at the rather excellent www.hastingspubhistory.com website which explains the history of this one and other Hastings and St Leonards pubs in a lot of detail.
As a pub it is less than 70 years old, having first opened in 1956. Before the Second World War it was three separate dwellings centred on a well-known boot and shoe shop. It owes its mock Tudor frontage to a common activity after the war, when damaged buildings were bought up cheaply, then ‘tudorised’ in the style of Mock Tudor and sold at a good profit. Although this building did suffer some bomb damage it was more damaged by a fire in 1953 which left it derelict and in need of repair. Initially it was only the small downstairs bar but the wife of the second licensee transformed the upstairs room into a fashionable bar room. Today you enter into this room from the entrance up a side alley to the right of the pub.
So yes its all fake and completely mock Tudor. But you have to say its all done very well and ticks all the boxes for what the tourist view of a Tudor inn should be.
For my visit the upstairs bar hand pumps had Bishops Finger, Whitstable Bay and Citra Smack on three of the pumps with the fourth not in use. This time I went for the Whitstable Bay, and it was perfectly fine.
Of the three Shep pubs I probably thought this was the best to visit, even now with the knowledge that it’s a post war build. You can still fool the tourists though by referring to it as Elizabethan, just don’t tell them it’s Elizabeth II.
However, if you do want to have a beer in a pub that does have a long history, then you just have to walk over the pedestrianised street to The Anchor opposite. And if you want to visit a pub with a more interesting ale choice, then duck all three of these Shep pubs and head to the Albion at the end of the lane.
On 1st September 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about Ye Olde Pump House
A fascinating looking building and as a result rather touristy. It was table service only post lockdown and the service was painfully slow, being a solo drinker the staff emphasis was on the multiple groups of diners,unable to move around the pub being table bound and faced with the only available cask beer being a rather bland Shepherd Neame Masterbrew, I didn't much enjoy my short stay here.
On 12th October 2020
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1871 recommendations about 1844 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Ye Olde Pump House
Local hearsay around town, dates this medieval looking pub to just after the Second World War. Whether this is true or not it certainly gets the tourists in, including ourselves. Once through the entrance you enter a small room with a small bar on the left. The young barmaid welcomed us and after looking at the keg fonts on display, she said the cask beers are on handpump, upstairs in the main bar. The upstairs front dining area and main lounge and bar was very impressive, so it was well worth a visit. Four Shepherd Neame ales, Spitfire, Master Brew, Bishops Finger and Northern Lights. I went for the Northern Lights again as I did enjoy it across the road in the Anchor, the beer quality was the same and so were the prices.
On 6th November 2019
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
View more reviews of Ye Olde Pump House (6)
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- Official site of Ye Olde Pump House - yeoldepumphouse.com
- Facebook - Ye olde pumphouse
- Twitter - Ye Olde Pump House
- CAMRA WhatPub :: Ye Olde Pump House - whatpub.com
- Historic Pub Interiors - pubheritage.camra.org.uk
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Function Room : Yes - According to Twitter - last updated 21 July 2015 by Dave McNally
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 25 August 2009 by Will Larter
