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Ye Olde Pump House, Hastings
Hastings
TN34 3EE
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 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 2109 recommendations about 1991 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]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about Ye Olde Pump House
It's not really hard to miss Ye Olde Pump House. Its medieval frontage is prominent in the picturesque Old Town High Street and just begs to be visited. Much is said about the pub's origins and whether the building is original or just a marvellous recreation and I'm not really going to get into the debate other than to say that there is very little regarding its history that I could trawl up which suggests that it leans more towards the latter. Fake or not, there is no doubt that it ticks all the boxes when it comes to all the charm of an Olde Worlde pub. Plenty of heavy low beamed ceilings, bare floors, off centre walls, latticed windows, old (looking) brick fireplaces, lanterns, pretty much a tourists impression of what a medieval building should be and very impressive it is.
The downstairs consists of a small “smugglers” bar, a dark but atmospheric snug with old fishing nets and ship wheels to emphasise the nautical theme. It should be noted that there did not appear to be any hand pumps in this bar. The larger main bar is upstairs and is divided into a couple of rooms across the length of the pub.There are plenty of old photos, theatre posters and brewery mirrors and an interesting section at one end of the bar (labelled “bullshit corner”) has a collection of photos and caricatures of some of the regulars. A couple of flat screens were showing athletics on my recent visit and are presumably geared for sport in general. To the rear is an unobtrusive pool room and there is also a rather tiny patio with limited table space.
The beers are a bit of a let down; 3 Shepherd Neame Ales available on my recent visit (Master Brew, Bishops Finger and Spitfire) but quality can be a bit hit and miss (more miss than hit on my visits) and the prices between £2.90 and £3.10 seem a bit high for ales that are not consistently well kept.
The pub is certainly worth a visit to marvel at its interior and decide how much is real and how much is fake but it would need a good shake up on the beer front before it can claim any great reputation for anything else.
On 25th August 2009
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about Ye Olde Pump House
This is another Shepherd Neame pub with an unexciting ale choice of Spitfire and Master Brew and the usual limited draught selection. This is a shame as the pub itself is very interesting and I think I can best describe it as feeling like an old pirate ship. As you pass the three or four tables on the main path outside you enter into a small street level bar. The larger main bar is found up some stairs and you will find a dining type area towards the front of the pub and a couple of plasma screens in the main section in the middle. There is a pool room with one table up some more steps at the rear of the pub and there is also a tiny courtyard area outside the back for the smokers.
I found the young staff to be very friendly and the music selection was very good, it's just a shame about the range and quality of drinks.
I think that this is a pub that you have to visit if you've never been before, maybe on a Sunday for food rather than beer as the roasts were very cheap and they looked lovely.
On 31st March 2009
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5228 recommendations about 5196 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Manky Badger left this review about Ye Olde Pump House
The Old Pump House was always seen as the school's youth club when I was an inmate at Hastings Grammar School.
Thirty years later I suspect little has changed. A mate and I had the Bishop's Finger which was sour. two others in or party had the Spitfire which wasn't any better.
It's the sort of place which gives the Shepherd Neame brewery a bad name.
On 18th February 2008
- rating: 3
[User has posted 155 recommendations about 154 pubs]