Pub of the Year and Landlord of the Year 1996
From a short list comprising
- The Green Man, Thriplow;
- The Queen's Head, Newton;
- The Kings, Reach;
- The Empress, Thoday Street;
- The Champion of the Thames, King Street;
- The Ship, Brandon Creek;
the Cambridge & District Branch voted for the Pub of the Year.
A condition of voting was that every pub had to be visited.
The winner is The Ship, Brandon Creek
Publican Tony Hook was to be presented with a CAMRA Certificate at the
opening of the Beer Festival. Tony was unable to be present however.
The presentation therefore took place at the Ship on 16 July.
Featured in the 1996 Good Beer Guide
The Ship is in an area steeped in history and has a story which needs to be
properly researched before it can be told.
The plan is to do justice to the story
in the next edition.
For now, the description in the 1996 Good Beer Guide reads as follows:
"A welcome find on a long, dry stretch of the A19, offering a wide
range of beers and an excellent bar menu.
At the confluence of the Great and Little Ouse rivers, an ideal
stop for motorists, walkers and sailors."
And from Pints Worth Finding:
"Comfortably furnished, long bar with marine and aviation prints.
Sunken area at one end makes an attractive separate section.
Extensive menu, food served 11:30-3:00 and 6:30-10:00 Mon-Fri.;
all day Sat. etc.
There has been a pub on the site since about 1640.
Ghosts seen on the river bank make their presence felt in the pub as well...
Public & private moorings."
The Castle, Castle Hill, was a contender for Pub of the Year until it was
learned at the last minute that landlord Fred Vesey was soon leaving the pub.
While it is true that the pubs' presence on this list are due to their
achievements over the past year, the Committee feel it was essential that the
publican was expected to be in residence for the next six months.
It would be difficult to promote the winner as such with a new publican:
the publican would be reticent about the win if he had not contributed to it.
However the branch wanted to recognise the contribution Fred had made to the
success of The Castle and were pleased to make an award of Publican of the Year to him.
A CAMRA guide to pubs in Southern Cambridgeshire
Price £3 inc. p&p from 47 Cambridge Rd., Gt. Shelford.
Includes 1996 Update.
Also available from various pubs (e.g. the Cambridge Blue).
ALE August/September 1996 No. 285
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