Above is a plan of Christchurch Priory which was drawn in the early nineteenth century and it notes the “supposed site of the cloisters” and this is terminology which has been used more recently. I don’t claim to be a cathedral expert, but I’m struggling to see that there’s much “supposed” about it and it seems quite definite. But, I guess that they’re using the correct historical term for when there isn’t direct evidence…. They were likely pulled down just after the Reformation, when the church was saved from destruction by the townspeople who petitioned King Henry VIII to keep it as their parish church.
The building on the right is obviously post-Reformation and it’s connected now as part of a relatively new development when a closed up Norman door has been reopened.
This seems to me to inevitably be the site of the former cloisters which once housed an early school.
The range would have gone along here, with the doorway on the left being the access point. Those arches are Norman (well, not the restored one on the left) and I imagine were ornamental to the cloisters.
It does feel that it would be nice, without wanting to remove the Priory’s parking spaces, to lay the site of the former cloisters out and make a little lawned area in the centre (I think called a garth). I mean, I’m sure the Priory is more concerned with the current building not falling down (it’s been on the heritage at risk register), but maybe if they one day get the money…..
This is the courtyard entrance to the Stonegate operated Ye Olde George Inn, part of their Social Pub and Kitchen chain. They claim on their website that it’s the best pub in Christchurch. I don’t think it is, but there we go….
The real ale selection was a little uninspiring, but they had a couple of options at least, the Gold from Hobgoblin and London Pride from Fullers.
Some preserved wattle and daub. The building dates to the fifteenth century when it was a private residence, although it became an inn by the seventeenth century (earliest records say 1630) so it’s likely the oldest licensed premises in Christchurch. It was reconstructed after the English Civil War and it’s thought that some of the stone was pinched from Christchurch Castle which Cromwell had ordered to be destroyed. It’s also mentioned to be haunted, but I think that’s said for any vaguely old pub.
The interior of the pub, which has also been known as the George and Dragon, felt historic and interesting. There’s a large exterior area, which is rather necessary as the inside isn’t the largest. The toilets are external, which is something of a throwback. The venue is also keen to note that they’re dog friendly, although the large and spacious garden helps with that aspiration.
The London Pride tasted as expected, with the Pipers crisps being delicious as ever. The prices though were way towards the higher end of the scale and really over the top for a Stonegate pub.
The venue’s food menu, which was still a little expensive, although not unreasonably so. The service in the pub was friendly and engaging, with customers being served in turn despite the relatively small bar layout.
There was some Stonegate signage saying that you could get a free drink by signing up to their app. I have endless enthusiasm for this sort of thing, so I managed to get a free pint of Guinness, even though the manager was initially unsure this was included in the offer. But, it scanned through and I felt that overall we received rather decent value for money with the addition of this beer to proceedings.
All told, it’s an interesting venue given the heritage of the building, but I can’t help but think that Stonegate could do a lot more here. There is a disparity between the price of half pints and pints, something CAMRA doesn’t like (quite rightly in my view) and the pricing seems rather high.
However, much as I might think they’re making a mess of matters, it’s still well reviewed and it was reasonably busy and so they obviously know far more than me about this one. I liked the building and the service, but it was the free Guinness that surprised and delighted me most of all.
There was a lot to delight and excite me about Christchurch Priory (I don’t get out much) and so my two loyal blog readers can look forward to a heap more posts.
Anyway, this is a beautiful Norman arch which was built in around 1140 and served as the Prior’s entrance to the church.
It’s really not in bad shape, but it was sealed in 1539 following the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The cloisters came down and this door into the Priory wasn’t needed and it remained sealed until 1981. The general wear and pollution to the stonework shows that this door was subject to the elements for some centuries, but it is now protected.
The lighting was more challenging to get a photo in this direction, but this is standing inside the church looking out to the new extension. I can’t find anything online about the project to reopen this door in the 1980s, but it seems like a marvellous undertaking.
I’m pleased to note that Ross and I managed to visit every pub in Christchurch (the Dorset one, not the New Zealand one) so that means a heap of blog posts.
Formerly known as the Ship Inn, the venue has a long history, the core of the building is thought to date to around 1688, with a Victorian facade on the front. Christchurch was very much a smuggling town in the eighteenth century, so perhaps there was a fair amount of that going on in the pub. The word ‘inn’ indicates that there was accommodation, and newspapers from the 1850s show that there was a large room upstairs which could be used for meetings. There was a recent planning permission change request and the owners said that the interior had been so knocked about that there was a limited amount of original layout left.
The Ship is more of a restaurant than a bar, but they do allow drinkers in and we were made to feel welcome during our visit.
The Doom Bar had run out, although I didn’t personally consider that as any great loss, so they had two beers from Timothy Taylor’s on.
We sat at the bar and I went for a Golden Best and I was pleased to discover that I haven’t had it before. It was well-kept, light. fluffy and sweet, so that met my expectations, although there was nothing overly notable about it.
The venue appears to have recently been taken over by new owners and the reviews seem positive. The menu is mostly traditional pub food, but it seems like an effort has been made to source locally and the presentation looks decent.
Looking at old photos of the pub, it was a gastropub and jazz bar fifteen years ago, so the theme of a food led venue isn’t something new. The last owners had an Asian themed menu, although the new owners seemed to have stepped back from this and are aiming for traditional meals served in what I think is designed to be a contemporary manner. Anyway, it was welcoming, clean, friendly and I got to try a beer that I hadn’t had before.
I rather like a castle, especially one that’s free to visit, although there’s not much of this one left.
This is pretty much what exists today, not quite what was originally here. The first castle here was likely in the Saxon period and would have been a traditional wooden motte and bailey arrangement, although this lovely practice of putting a heap of sticks at the top of the hill wasn’t entirely sustainable after 1066, so the Normans rebuilt it in stone in the twelfth century.
The doorway in and back a little to who was behind this project, namely Richard de Redvers, one of those efficient Norman lords who followed William the Conqueror across the Channel and ended up owning half the south coast.
And now inside, looking outwards.
The information board.
The view over Christchurch Priory.
It requires some imagination to be able to see this as a substantial defensive structure which once controlled the local area. There was more of the castle still standing by the time of the English Civil War, but then Cromwell had some of it demolished which is sub-optimal from a heritage point of view. In many ways, it was an appropriate way to go as it was finally used for defensive purposes when Parliamentarians seized it and the Royalists besieged it until they gave up. It was then that Cromwell thought it was best to ensure it wasn’t used by anyone again. After this, helpful local denizens pinched bits of it for their own building project, so it’s remarkable that there’s anything left.
And there are two negative TripAdvisor reviews which are somewhat ridiculous, complaining it seems that someone hasn’t put some of the castle back again.
“A few crumbling stone walls at the top of a knoll. I do like history but this little bit of it was not very exciting I’m afraid”
and:
“It’s just a pile of rubble now, nothing at all to see here except a plaque with the typical “this castle was home to…” dialogue written on it…honestly it’s pointless coming to visit unless you like giant stones”
Unfortunately, Cromwell has evidently failed to meet the expectations of these visitors.
It was reported in 1992 that English Heritage were worried about people meandering up the hill and damaging the mound, so they installed some steps and these are still going strong today and seem to have tackled the erosion problem from people creating their own desire paths.
Anyway, I’m not sure that anyone is going to spend more than around fifteen minutes visiting the castle, but it’s a relief that at least some of it has survived.
This looked like an interesting and quirky venue, although it wasn’t initially clear to me whether it was primarily a food venue or more of a bar.
They use beach huts as external seating to add some character to proceedings.
The food menu and the chicken schnitzel looked tempting…. But I had already eaten (not that this always stops me) and decided not to.
It was a pleasant interior and it transpired that it was a bar as well as a restaurant, although it wasn’t overly busy when we were there.
The postcard theme is evident here.
They had the Follow the Green Line from Round Corner Brewing and I was pleased to see something a little different on keg. It ran out near the top and the helpful team member said that they were changing the keg, although I was slightly doubtful that they’d have another as it’s not a mainstream beer. It transpired that they didn’t, so usually this beer would be discarded and another choice offered. But, I wanted this beer as I hadn’t had it and I’m happy with the end of a keg line, although not at the end of a cask line….. So, I asked to keep this and they could just pour some Asahi in another glass to make it up. I was glad that I did, it was a decent limey beer, citrusy and smooth.
It probably didn’t help their stock control, but there’s the Asahi which tasted as expected.
Some more postcards.
The venue had a welcoming atmosphere, the team members were friendly and I liked their beer selection as it made an effort to be wide-ranging. I hadn’t visited this bar when I’ve been in Bournemouth before, but they’ve been going for over a decade. All rather lovely.
We hadn’t intended on going in here, but it looked intriguing and so we popped in en route to the railway station to get to Christchurch. It’s part of a small chain of four bars, the others being in Bristol, Birmingham and Cardiff.
I rather like the decor and general theme, it’s suitably quirky and informal.
The food seemed affordable, here’s the hot dog menu.
And the pizza menu.
The beer list and that’s quite an impressive beer tower with the seven pint option.
There was a singer, but he wasn’t deafeningly loud so that was rather lovely.
I think it’s aimed primarily at students, but it seemed welcoming to everyone.
The bier lift is a nice touch.
I might have ordered half a pint of Hooch, which is sweet, delicious and I accept not a craft beer. Well, actually, I think it comes close.
The online reviews were very positive and the team members were friendly, welcoming and personable. Although I felt that this review seemed a little sinister, there should be no excuse for exclusion.
I was on holiday in Bournemouth for a few days and wanted to pop in for a pint on a Sunday night. I was told by the door staff that the company policy was that no individuals may enter. This was because it took them ‘over capacity’. As a 52 year old man travelling alone, on a Sunday evening and with no more than 30 people inside this seemed ridiculous. I did send a message via the website as yet I have got no reply. Shame really, dismissive door staff and a poor service, could do and should do better.
I can’t find any other similar reviews, so hopefully it was the case that they were at the capacity that they wanted. Anyway, I thought that this was an informal and well managed venue, with the food and drink prices seeming reasonable. I like pub chains with an interesting theme or concept, it adds a little something to the whole arrangement.
The Thomas Shelley is the second JD Wetherspoon venue in Bournemouth, located nearby to the Moon in the Square. They used to operate the Christopher Creeke on Holdenhurst Road, but that’s now closed, although I did visit it when I was in Bournemouth in 2018.
As usual, I’ll take the history of the pub name from JD Wetherspoon:
“St Peter’s churchyard contains the grave of Mary Shelley and her husband, the romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Mary, author of the novel Frankenstein, died in London in 1851. Her body was interred in the family vault at St Peter’s by her son, Sir Percy Florence Shelley, who lived at nearby Boscombe Manor (which later became part of Bournemouth and Poole College).”
The pub was busy, this is one of the few tables that was briefly unoccupied. It’s a large venue and there are numerous different seating areas, with the bar in the centre of the whole arrangement. There were about eight real ales available and the drinks, as usual, were keenly priced. I ordered at the bar and it was all efficient and organised, with only a minimal wait.
Working through a little more of the JD Wetherspoon beer festival, this is the JDW Young Henrys Newtowner which isn’t particularly well reviewed on Untappd. I rather liked it though, it was light and citrusy.
Ross ordered Coors and I’m not judgemental at all about beer, but I know others in the pub might be, so I hid it in case anyone said anything.
The next half pint was the Root and Branch from Oakham Ales, which is a black IPA. It has an interesting flavour, roasty and quite complex.
The carpet.
As usual, I feel the need to look through the reviews as it’s a JD Wetherspoon venue and it’s quite well reviewed online.
“Popped in to get a quick whiskey and to see if I could get some ice to take away. Not a problem but had to pay a pound for the coffee cup to take it away in. Was interestingly informed by the barman serving me that it was good ice cos it’s hard and lasts ages. Information for barman, ice is ice and it lasted no longer than any other ice.”
Wetherspoon does have good ice I suppose, but seems a bit harsh to charge £1 for a takeaway cup….
“I came on steak Tuesday order a sirloin steak chips. The steak did not taste right like a sirloin. Also asked for normal peppercorn sauce and they don’t have it, ask them to make it they don’t make the sauce fresh its in a bag!”
I like the idea of the team member in the kitchen quickly making some fresh peppercorn sauce….
“During my Son’s Stag we ordered food & did not receive what we paid for. The upset member of staff took it away. He later returns and said that it was paid for anyway and dropped the 2 plates onto the bar and when I called the manager / team leader to explain and complain about he’s action I was told that she will not deal with it as I was being rude. They then refused to sale any drinks to the party of 22 people. I was told we can stay but can’t order.”
You can stay, but don’t order anything probably isn’t what a stag group wants to hear….
“Was appalled to see England supporters being told to cover up their shirts. Thought this was an English pub in an English Town in an English County where democracy exists.”
In a democracy, pubs can ask customers not to wear football shirts. Although the chain has changed their mind on this numerous times, it probably is a bit unfair on customers to work out what their current policy is.
“Didn’t stay for a drink as the men’s toilets were so far away downstairs it was like a punishment! Might be a good pub but I don’t want a marathon to the toilet”
They’re down one flight of stairs…. Anyway, the exercise is good for the soul.
“Most of the staff here are horrible.”
They’re probably not….
“Still trying to uphold some vague restrictions . Doesn’t suit virtue signalers or those that want normality . Just the usual really, pretend to be doing something for some woke points and inconvenience everyone whilst actually doing nothing of use…”
Perhaps it’s that woke Tim Martin.
Anyway, I’ve digressed once again. All seemed in order at the pub, it was clean, organised and the team members seemed friendly. It was useful to tick a couple more beers off from the real ale festival that they’re having nationally and Ross was pleased with his pizza.
I did have a plan to visit every Brewdog in the country, although they feel like they’ve lost their way recently and the whole chain has become somewhat less appealing to me. However, I thought I’d visit their Bournemouth outlet as I’d never been.
It’s a little frustrating as Brewdog pays to be listed on Untappd, but this is another one of their venues that doesn’t keep it up-to-date. So the Vault City beer that I was hoping they had, they actually didn’t have as it hadn’t been updated in a few days. The beer selection is OK, although there’s little that’s new and exciting and I’d had most of the guest beers before. The service was though friendly, warm and engaging.
For a Friday evening, the venue was much quieter than I had anticipated. I was meeting my friend Ross here, otherwise they had a grand total of five customers. Their pricing, especially for food, has kept pushing towards the higher end of the scale. As a bar though, it’s beautifully designed. I do actually also like their food, especially the chicken wings, but unless there’s some offer on, it is a little out of sync with other venues.
This is the Pupa from Vibrant Forest Brewery, a light, tropical, refreshing, hoppy and juicy beer that I rather liked. It’s from a local brewery, as Vibrant Forest are from Hardley and I’ve had a few of their beers before. One thing that Brewdog manage, unlike some other chains, is that their glasses are nearly always spotlessly clean.
There’s a sign on the top of the fridge noting that it’s a bit broken, but they have cold cans elsewhere so all is not lost. It’s a well curated beer fridge, I was tempted to have a couple in the bar rather than taking away, but there’s a £2 uplift for that and although that’s not unreasonable, it made it all just a bit expensive.
This Bournemouth location opened in 2022, so it’s one of their newer ones, and it has survived the recent cull of ten venues and so it must be doing reasonably well. I thought it felt well managed, it was spotlessly clean, the team members were friendly and it had a welcoming vibe. There’s still definitely some mileage in the brand, but it’s a shame that some of their pricing couldn’t be a little lower in places.
Not that I’m one to complain….. But this is entirely sub-optimal, the recent Government changes on sugary soft drinks have also impacted the hot chocolate at JD Wetherspoon. That means no more unlimited mochas or hot chocolates, which seems to me a ridiculous infringement on my coffee drinking rights. And, next to these machines will be unlimited sachets of sugar, those are absolutely fine on their own….
I’m not entirely sure whether JD Wetherspoon will actually monitor this or just end up removing hot chocolate entirely and having it by sachets only or something. I’m not entirely sure that this will help the health of the next generation, but what would I know…..
