The Duke William, Matlock

Will Larter left this review about The Duke William

This handsome building has had a major reinvention at some time, the front door being converted to a window and a new entrance created at the side of the pub in a flat-roofed extension which also incorporates the toilets. The smaller bar room now has the front of the building to itself, while the larger lounge or dining room has the back portion, further extended towards the rear, where there is also a small covered area of outdoor seating. On the bar (and I assume duplicated in the other room) were three hand pumps with Dancing Duck Ay Up and Timothy Taylor Landlord; a blackboard behind the bar also mentioned Wainwright for £4.30 a pint, but it seems that this is a keg version. The Landlord was pricey enough at £4.10, but although it was in very good condition it was somewhat lacking in flavour. I had come here for a pre-match beer, Matlock Town being at home to the team from the city that was my home between 1973 and 1983, Lancaster. I was expecting there would be a bit of a crowd in the bar, but there were fewer than 20 people altogether by the time I left. The landlord, a Sheffield man, reckons local people don't much like climbing hills. To be fair it's a stiff pull up from Matlock Green, and an equally tricky descent. I would have given this pub a higher rating, as it is a lovely building, well presented, and the only thing wrong with the beer is what happens before it arrives in the cellar. My problem is the background music, which was too loud to ignore, and was of the genre which I think of as "annoyingly chirpy" - perhaps there's a CD with that title, or maybe it's a setting on Spotify. Whatever, I wish it would stop.

On 5^th February 2022 - rating: 6
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