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This public house is one of the oldest established houses in the country. Although not the original building, the current structure dates back to the 14th century. Situated just outside the Roman City of Verulamium at the foot of the hill on which stands the Abbey of St. Albans, it is a popular place with tourists.
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Well, this is the Hollybush at
Potters Crouch in Hertfordshire. It is my favoured public house,
especially as I have frequented it regularly for the past 27 years. Once
owned by Ind Coope, it was sold to Fullers in 1991 (I think that's the
right year) and now you can get excellent pints of Chiswick, London Pride and
ESB with an occasional extra such as Old Winter Ale. Ray Taylor, the
tennant, is a charismatic (cough) character who knows how to sell a
pint. Expensively.
Take a look at the garden.
There is a small software company called
Computer Concepts, also known as
Xara (ever heard of Corel Xara?) who live in the big house just up the hill
from here. This is Great Gaddesden, which is smaller than Little
Gaddesden not far away! The public house here (in the picture) is the
'Cock & Bottle'. A free house
(which means it isn't owned by a brewery, for anyone outside the UK) in
which there were six Real Ales available. Fullers ESB and London Pride
were regulars as was my favourite beer, Timothy Taylor's
'Landlord'.
This pub closed on Sunday, 13 August 2000.
Since no buyer could be found, it is being converted into appartments. :-(
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The Crown and Sceptre is a Green King pub selling GK IPA and Abbot Ale with one or two guests. It is situated on the east side of Gaddesden Place at a hamlet known as Bridens Camp. A number of locals dispossessed by the Cock and Bottle may now be found here. It has recently been taken over by new tenants who, unfortunately, are not putting in enough effort, causing the custom to drift away.
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On the Common at Studham. A free house with Adnams IPA and Broadside as regulars, and for some time now, "Colley's Dog" from the Tring brewery. Pleasant country village pub. Recently refurbished, it's more of a restaurant than a pub. Can get very busy.
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This was my first regular pub. We were here for several years but increasing contension with the landlord (tenant actually; it was an Ind Coope owned house) and general dissatisfaction with the beer lead to a popular revolt in the late seventies when virtually all of 'our crowd' defected to the Hollybush at Potters Crouch (see above) en masse. It was sold a few years ago and became a free house, selling Adnams IPA Tetley Bitter (hmm) and up to three other beers from small indepentent or micro brewers. Strangely, it is almost totally unchanged from when I first went there, some thirty five years ago.
Update: As of 2004, this pub is now owned by Brakspears and currently has a caretaker landlord. All the micro brewers have gone but there are guest beers from the bigger independants. Unfortunately, the price of a pint has gone up to exorbitant on all beers and Brakspears have hacked about with the interior, so it is currently out of favour.
