The Romany, Northampton

The 80's vogue for knocking through multi-room pubs into a single, large, easy to manage space, signalled the death-knell for many separate Bars, Snugs, and Games Rooms. It's certainly not just nostalgia which leads me to mourn the loss of this traditional multi-room layout. Different spaces serve different needs in a pub, and losing the separate bar/lounge/snug/games room layout can often remove at a stroke the pubs ability to appeal to a truly...

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The Plough, Bruntingthorpe, Leicestershire

The first time I popped in for a pint at The Plough in Bruntingthorpe, the place was so busy that taking photos was simply out of the question. This was a Sunday afternoon, a quiet time for many rural pubs.It wasn't so long ago that the ritual of the pre-Sunday Lunch pint (often followed by the Sunday afternoon session) was almost universally supported, albeit mostly by men of course! But as we all know, the steady weekly traditions of pub-going...

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Snookerette - The Gedney Hill & District League

The external signage on the Black Bear in Wisbech advertises the pub game staples of Pool and Darts, no surprises there, but notice also that something called Snookerette is on offer at the pub. Now that's a game that not many will have heard of, although locally it's quite common, played as it is in a league of up to nine venues in the Gedney Hill & District League. So what might Snookerette be?As you'll see from the image below, which was taken...

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A Compendium of Pub Games Images - Pt 16

The Chestnut is a friendly and vibrant local, tucked away in a leafy residential area of Worcester. It's an interesting pub, run by an enthusiastic (and slightly eccentric) landlord. A recent addition to the bar is a full size Pine Pulpit, and afternoons can be spent browsing the extensive vinyl collection, with a record deck available to play whatever takes your fancy. This huge slate Shove Ha'penny was rescued from another pub and the landlord...

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Three Tuns, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire

Old established family brewers like Elgoods seem to value their pub estates that much more than non-brewing pub companies. Pubcos (and sadly this includes some of the very large brewers) are so divorced from the business of brewing and selling ale, that their estates are merely there for short-term cash flow, or medium-term property investment. A brewery which owns its own pubs has a vested interest in their success since they act as a shop window...

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Brunswick Arms, St Johns, Worcester

The first sight to greet you at the front entrance of the Brunswick Arms is this unusual timber construction, a coin tossing game called  Grenuoille, more commonly found in French or Belgian bars. Lovingly homemade by the licensee, it's just one of the dozens of traditional pub and bar games which form licensee Chris Hankins extensive collection.The Brunswick is a kind of one-stop-shop for traditional pub games. The collection includes just...

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