This is an image (© IWM D 4282) from the wonderful Imperial War Museum photo collection, taken in the Chelmsford suburb of Springfield in August 1941.
It shows a whole load of public footpath signs which have been taken from locations around Essex to ensure that any landing German has no clue where to go. The signs were placed here in a bid to deter aircraft from landing in the area, making for an interesting looking field.
Located near to the railway station and the Ale House is this pub which looks quite small from the front, but is suitably long and sizeable when looked at from the side. It’s listed in the Good Beer Guide and so I felt that it deserved a quick visit.
There was a friendly welcome from the barman and there was a traditional feel to the interior, a proper pub. There’s a railway theme, which isn’t a surprise, and there were plenty of locals drinking (I took the photo during a brief quiet spell) but it wasn’t cliquey.
Some of the railway decor.
The barman apologised that there were no stouts or porters, he explained that they didn’t have the trade for them at the moment. Most of the customers seemed to be ordering lagers, so I can understand his difficulty here. He did though have a mild, which I think is a decent compromise, which was the Black Prince from Wantsum Brewery. The beer was better than I had anticipated, smooth and with a pleasant aftertaste. Wantsum are a brewery from Kent and their beers are named after historical events or people, which is a quite marvellous idea.
I liked this pub, all a little understated perhaps, but it was what a pub needed to be, which was welcoming and homely. The beer selection isn’t exceptional at the moment, but these are troubled times and I liked that the barman explained that there’s normally more. This seems to be a worthwhile addition to the Good Beer Guide in my view, a little treat for those who need a drink before getting their train.
Back to Good Beer Guide pubs, the Ale House is located near to the railway station and has some excellent reviews. I got a bit confused as to whether I was meant to wait outside or go in, but on trying the door it was locked, so I worked out that I was meant to wait outside. Until a staff member opened the other half of the door, so I suspect I looked like an idiot standing outside. The staff member didn’t say anything though, I like when they pretend not to notice stupidity….
The beer list which is also helpfully on Untappd, so I had seen what the pub had to offer before arriving. A nicely balanced selection with plenty of different beer and cider types.
And there were cans and bottles for those who preferred, with some very tempting options there.
A wall display.
The bar is in railway arches and if someone had somehow missed that, they’d soon know from the trains thundering by overhead. I liked it, it all added character.
This is the De La Creme from Mad Squirrel Brewery which didn’t quite have the richness of taste that I had anticipated, although it was a perfectly good milk stout. I think that the De La Nut from the same brewery, which I haven’t tried, might have a little more depth to it.
The service here was personable, attentive and welcoming, a friendly atmosphere. The staff were carefully following all the required rules and it was a comfortable and clean environment. Some very tempting options and if I didn’t have other pubs to explore then I’d have tried a few more beers here. My favourite pub in Norwich is the Artichoke and this is pretty similar, with many of the can options being those I’ve seen in the Artichoke.
I’m not sure how many cities have tanks made out of willow on their roundabouts, but it’s one of the things that Chelmsford has done to mark the 75th anniversary of VE-Day. There are two tanks on the roundabout, one is a British Sherman Tank and the other is a German Panzer Tank, both of which were designed by the local artist Deb Hart. Apparently it takes 26 bundles of willow to make a tank and they certainly add some character to the roundabout.
Before working around some Good Beer Guide pubs in Chelmsford, I thought I’d quickly pop to the only JD Wetherspoon outlet in the city, which is the Ivory Peg. Unlike many Wetherspoons, this one hasn’t managed to get into the Good Beer Guide, but has managed to pick up quite a lot of negative reviews.
The welcome was fine, although I was sent to the ‘order by app’ area of the pub which was full, so then just went to the table service area. And then ordered by app, which hopefully didn’t irritate anyone. I’m sure that worse crimes have been committed in the Ivory Peg.
The Old Growler from Nethergate brewery, which was better than I expected in terms of the richness of taste and it was well kept. I ordered the standard burger as well, which was perfectly well presented and cooked, although this JD Wetherspoon is the only one I’ve encountered recently which is still asking customers to meander around the pub to look for their own condiments.
All desserts are £1.99 in JD Wetherspoons between Monday and Wednesday at the moment, so I went for this chocolate and salted caramel tart which is new to the menu. The ice cream was a bit littered with ice crystals, but the tart was flavoursome, albeit perhaps slightly gritty in texture. Hard to complain for the price though and the service was timely and friendly.
I had a little look on TripAdvisor for reviews that might amuse me, even if no-one else. I liked this one from a couple of weeks ago….
“Was having a drink with a mate this evening,it got very noisy as a big group came in shouting swearing no social distancing, 2 of the group spilled there drinks on the table so they thought they would lick the table bloody disgusting manager saw all of this but done nothing”
It’s not ideal.
“I asked the “red head” manageress TWICE to switch to ITV channel perfectly nicely so I could watch the rugby World Cup (it was showing a Sunday morning chat show that no one was watching), and was told “I don’t think I have that channel” – I’m off to The Fleece where the rugby is on all TVs.”
I never quite understand why customers don’t just go to pubs that are showing sports rather than try and demand a pub change and then leave 1/5 reviews when they don’t…. But each to their own.
“My girl friends and I like a good drink when we get together which not as often as we like. We spent over £100 and came out virtually sober. The drinks are thoroughly watered down. The way in which the bar staff sloshed it in the glasses said rather a lot. The service was so slow too. HEAD OFFICE YOU WILL BE HEARING FROM ME!!!!”
I think the pub manager sounded as confused about this as anyone, but the chances of Wetherspoons watering down alcohol is IMO pretty much zero.
Anyway, I doubt that this will be the best pub that I go to in Chelmsford, but it was cheap, cheerful and welcoming. All rather lovely.
And off again from Norwich railway station, to the exotic climes of Chelmsford and the shiny new (well, newish) train was sitting ready at platform 1.
The train was packed in Norwich……
There was a little confusion as the platform information screens were displaying conflicting information and then the train lights and power went out. The doors were locked shut for around ten minutes, although I did wonder whether they could be opened from the inside if required. The passengers on board looked suitably confused, but I remained hopeful that I was on the right train. Fortunately, about ten minutes before departure, the lights came back on and other customers could get on.
The train did get busier on the way to Chelmsford and this is the busiest that I’ve seen the London train over recent months. It was still possible for customers to get a table to themselves, but only just. The refreshments trolley is back going up and down the train, although something strange has happened to the prices. A confused customer opposite was charged £1 for his coffee and when he queried it, the staff seemed equally confused as to why he was questioning this. £1 is way below the publicised price, but if there’s an offer on, perhaps that should be advertised. Anyway, the journey was all smooth and otherwise uneventful.
And arriving at Chelmsford railway station on time, the first time that I’ve ever visited this city. I’ve also discovered today that it’s the only city in Essex and also the county town, which I would say is a fun fact, but I’m not sure how fun it actually is. The fare was £8 for a single which is very reasonable, especially since that’s cheaper than going from Norwich to much nearer destinations such as Great Yarmouth, Cambridge and Ely.
I don’t know who William Hawkins is, but he must have been relatively powerful or influential to have had a vault here at St. Botolph’s Church. The vault would have been here since before the fire at the church in 1648, and perhaps before the Dissolution of the Monasteries just over a century before. It’s perhaps not an ideal situation for your vault, which was deliberated designed to be inside, to be left out in the open. However, it’s also interesting that the site has been marked and not left to be forgotten over the centuries.
In the tenth century, there was a church here dedicated to St. Botolph, but a Kentish priest with the name of Norman fancied setting up an Augustinian priory. So, after some research and approval, this magnificent structure was built and the religious institution was established. It was the first Augustinian priory to be constructed in the country and it also, very sensibly, honours St. Julian.
The rather glorious remaining section of the west front of the priory.
Much of the church has been reconstructed using Roman brick that was robbed from various walls and buildings around Colchester.
These pillars have stood the test of time…..
This is the nave, looking towards the west end of the priory. The priory was closed down during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, but the nave area was saved as this was used by the local population at their church. Everything that the monks used, such as the cloisters, numerous chapels and their area for prayer was all pulled down.
The church in its new form survived until 1648, when it was destroyed during a siege that took place during the English Civil War. There were plans to rebuild the church after the Civil War, but they never came to pass, so the ruins have stood here now for over 350 years, currently under the management of English Heritage.
This memorial notes where Sir Charles Lucas (1613-1648) and Sir George Lisle (1610-1648) were shot on the orders of Sir Thomas Fairfax, the Parliamentarian General. The two men were shot in the castle yard on 28 August 1648, following the surrender of the town to Parliamentary troops during the Civil War. The men were buried at St. Giles’s Church in the town and after the restoration of the Monarchy, there was a commemoration ceremony and the actions of Fairfax were rejected by many. Lucas was given a posthumous peerage in 1666 and the decision to shoot them was seen as a miscarriage of justice, even for the period. Lisle had said to the firing squad “now rebels, do your worst” and Lucas was equally brave.
This memorial stone was unveiled here behind Colchester Castle, where the men were killed, on 20 October 1892 at a ceremony attended by Henry Laver.
The Victoria’s web-site has the message “we pride ourselves on being able to source many ales that you may not have tasted before, many from micro breweries who don’t usually supply nationally so we take the time to go and fetch them ourselves. Not for us the safe route of Adnams, London Pride, Doombar, etc……” which is one of the most reassuring things that a pub can say. Although I understand that many pubs are tied and don’t have this flexibility, it’s still relatively rare to get an interesting choice of beers.
Some of the real ales and ciders, there were also pumps to the right with what might be defined as more exotic craft options, with beers from Bone Machine, Turning Point and the Cloudwater Brew Co. There was a friendly welcome from a staff member perched by the counter, giving him an ideal vantage point to get customers to sign in, seat them and engage with them as required. The staff members were helpful, friendly and there was a relaxed feel to the whole pub. All rather lovely.
This is the two-thirds of the Mary Ann is Dead from Bone Machine, although I caused some moderate confusion by ordering a drink in this measure. The barman was immensely helpful in working out the price and finding a suitable glass, I have somewhat got in the habit of ordering in thirds without checking the pub was set-up to do that. I liked that this unintentional curveball didn’t annoy the barman though. The drink has a rich and decadent taste of mint running through it, along with the chocolate flavour, very moreish. There was a limited aftertaste though, although the initial hit was quite strong, but this is still a very beautiful drink.
I pinched from Nathan a taster of the Multi-Dimensional Being from Cloudwater Brew Co. and I have no idea what on earth this drink was, defined loosely as a brown ale and it had a whole array of different flavours. My palate wasn’t good enough to know what these flavours were, other than slightly fruity whilst maintaining some elements of a stronger beer such as notes of chocolate. But, whatever the flavours were, this was a quite magnificent drink and I opted for one of my ever rare 4.75 out of 5 scores on Untappd. I could rightly say that no-one is really bothered about what I think of a beer, but I’m pleased that the brewery noted and acknowledged the score when they saw it.
It was a little bit of a shame that the pub didn’t open longer into the evening, as there were numerous other drinks options that looked tempting. But, I’m sure I’ll be back in the future. And this is one of my favourite pubs of the year.
