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Village Feature :
Hartington Hartington, situated in the Peak District National Park, used to be an important market centre in the Middle Ages, having been granted a market charter in 1203. It has been many years since a market has been held in the large square, but Hartington has adapted well to the new market – tourists! There are numerous 18th century cottages in the village, which is centred around the beautiful village pond and green. The village is situated amongst beautiful hills and dales, close to the River Dove in Beresford Dale, which forms the boundary between Derbyshire and Staffordshire. Nearby, is the Tissington Trail, the disused railway line that runs between Buxton and Ashbourne, which is used by cyclists, horse riders and walkers as a means to explore this attractive area of Derbyshire limestone country and the Peak District National Park. The celebrated River Dove flows through the magnificent Milldale, Wolfscote Dale and Beresford Dale, a short saunter from the village. It is an area of outstanding natural beauty, visited by such as luminaries Alfred Lord Tennyson, Dr. Johnson and Lord Byron but it is most famous for its connection with Charles Cotton the 17th Century poet and co-author with Izaak Walton of “The Complete Angler”. O my beloved Nymph fair Dove;
Time, to define it, is the space The Devonshire Arms, owned by Pubmaster is situated almost opposite the Charles Cotton Hotel again in the village square. It appears to have been a row of cottages and therefore has a relaxing, homely character. There are two rooms, the lounge to the left and the public bar to the right both comfortable with a real fire and a warm welcome. Food is available and the well-kept real ale on offer is Abbot Ale, Tetley’s and a decent pint of Bass, which we enjoyed. There are ample picnic benches outside to enjoy a cask beer ‘alfresco’ and watch the world go by, depending on the British weather of course. Hartington is indeed a beautiful English village and has adapted well to the visitors it attracts all year round. The village serves as an excellent base for walking the dales nearby and with two good pubs serving real ale and good food it is well worth a visit. However, the cost of good cask ale in this village is an above average £2.20 a pint, a little steep for a session but not too painful for our short visit. Unaccredited Pub Feature - The Hay,
Shirland Ever heard of Percy Toplis? No, well he is the real life character the BBC based a drama series around called the Monocled Mutineer and a book by the same name. The life and death of the incredible Percy Toplis – mutineer, racketeer, master of disguise, rake and rogue who was finally shot and killed after a long chase by the police in Cumbria. So what is the connection with Shirland? His parents lived on Park Lane, Shirland and Percy Toplis is reputed to have been a customer at the Hay Inn nearby. There is also a story that whilst on the run from the police he hid in the cellar of the Blackwell Hotel also nearby. As a result his likeness now adorns the pub’s signboard outside the pub. The Hay Inn is situated on the main Chesterfield to Derby Road at 135 Main Road Shirland. There is no pub sign but there is a signboard on the pub and it is the last building in a row built in 1890, so be careful not to miss it! This former Brampton Brewery owned pub used to have 4 rooms but has been altered a few times the last being in 1984. It is now one room with a ‘U’ shaped bar in the centre of this comfortable and clean room. The decorations appear to have come with the new owners as they depict real ales of the past. The name ‘Hay Inn’ is believed to have come from a previous owner many years ago who was a hay merchant and who stopped at the pub to and from his journeys to London. This pub for some time has been known as a nitro-keg only establishment, that is until the 22nd of July this year when it was sold to Malcolm and Janey Mackenzie. With the new owners came a clean sweep, out with the nitro-keg and in with the real ale. On their arrival they were told ‘real ale won’t sell’ but it obviously does! This is not surprising when we found that Malcolm and Janey have been long standing CAMRA members since 1982 and have a string of CAMRA awards from their previous pub the Malt Shovel Tavern in Northampton. There they managed a freehouse with 14 real ales and were voted as the Pub of the Year four years running. Also the East Midlands Pub of the Year and Morning Advertiser Cask Ale Pub of the Year 2000! With six years experience as a licensee Malcolm and Janey have relocated to Shirland and bought the Hay Inn as a true freehouse with no ties. So, what is on the bar and what was it like? Being a freehouse the choice was interesting. Approaching the bar our eyes were drawn to the Beowulf Wuffa a 4.5% summer special which was served brim measure without a sparkler making it a full pint. It was excellent, bags of flavour and a good start to the evening. Next came the other Beowulf beer on offer Gold Work wheat beer a 5.1% summer special, this was also good but was overshadowed by the after taste of the Wuffa. We then tried the cask mild from Kimberley, which replaced the keg mild fizz in July. We were not the only ones drinking the mild as the locals had clearly got a taste for this excellent well kept beer. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to try the other beers on offer which was a shame as the quality of the first three were excellent. This is a pub worth finding so why not call in and give them a try? Unaccredited The Barrow Boy - Low Pavements,
Chesterfield The Barrow Boy pub on the Low Pavement in Chesterfield market is the new name for what has formerly been known as Joplin’s and before that the Crown & Cushion. The original named Crown & Cushion is obviously an old building and was indeed listed in the Sheffield trade directory in 1828 when the landlord was Mr Abraham Cooke. Earlier records don’t mention the pub but it may have been known under another name. In 1977 CAMRA made mention of the Crown & Cushion in the guide ‘Where to find Good Beer in and around Sheffield’. A simple but all encompassing description of, Stones Best Bitter served on ‘electric,’ a town pub with two cosy rooms, frequented by market tenants on busy days. The name Crown & Cushion is usually depicted by a crown resting on a cushion which is used to carry it to the monarch at a coronation or similar ceremony. In the early 1980’s the Crown & Cushion was closed for refurbishment and reopened by Whitbread’s as Joplin’s wine bar. Named after the one of the rocks finest white blues singers. Her on stage performances became legendary for their outrageousness, but even these were surpassed by her own excessive lifestyle. Janis epitomised the most alarming aspects of the rock and roll lifestyle in her determination to live life to the full. What should have been a long and fruitful career was tragically cut short on 4th October 1970 when Janis was found dead in her hotel the victim of a drug overdose. All in all an unusual choice to name a wine bar in Chesterfield! Roland and Geraldine Parsons who came to Chesterfield from London to run Joplin’s were recognised by Whitbread in 1982 for their catering, a shame it wasn’t for the quality of their real ale! The pub is now owned by Tom Cobleigh and has undergone its most recent change at the beginning of March this year when it was renamed The Barrow Boy. No prizes for making the link to the market place outside the front door! The new tenant is Dave Samuels (pictured) with his partner Tristan Roberts who is responsible for the catering. Many people will know Dave who was a former cellarman and popular figure at the Derby Tup. Dave left the Derby Tup for London but has now returned to Chesterfield to take on the Barrow Boy. One of Dave’s first jobs was to restore the real ale quality and we now have a choice of four ales. Black Sheep Bitter is the one permanent beer with three changing guests. On our first visit we had a choice of Timothy Taylors Landlord, Theakston’s Old Peculiar and London Pride. We tried the Black Sheep and Taylors and both were well received. The Barrow Boy is a comfortable town centre pub suitable for all. Step from the market into a light and open area where blackboards display the traditional pub food available. The pub is open all day for coffee so there is a good mix of people in all areas which has a split level two steps down to the comfortable bar area. From there the pub has been extended using a conservatory to the rear to add extra space. Talking of extra space downstairs there is an excellent room that is used for private parties, meetings and meals on busy days. All in all it is a welcome addition to the town centre real ale scene. Unaccredited This webpage was last updated on Sunday, 07 October 2007 |
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Nestling
in the historic village of Hartington, recorded in the Doomsday Book as
Harteoum, you will find the 17th century Charles Cotton Hotel. This imposing
building in the main square has several rooms for food and drink, outside
picnic tables and a beer garden at the rear. There is also ample room for a
tearoom and internet café. The hotel is featured in the 2003 CAMRA Good Beer
Guide for its consistently good beer quality. The range of up to five cask
ales changes, but usually features a beer from the local brewery, Whim. We
tried the Whim Hartington IPA, which was in excellent condition and very
welcome after walking the dales nearby. The other beers on offer were
Theakston’s Best, Pedigree and Bombardier. You can visit at