Campaign for Real Pubs: The Hop Pole

The Hop Pole, Crewe, Cheshire CW2 7RQ

A four-square corner local in an area of Victorian terraced housing to the west of the town centre, the Hop Pole is a splendid traditional multi-roomed pub, although a little bit of opening-out, including knocking holes in one of the internal walls, means that it only qualifies for regional rather than national status on CAMRA’s National Inventory. There’s a central bar with glass shutters, no longer actually in use, surrounded by a quarry-tiled public bar on the right, a front pool room and a long lounge at the rear with alcoves of comfortable seating upholstered in a bright tartan pattern.

At the rear is a drinking terrace overlooking the bowling green, now a rare feature in pubs, which in the summer is busy with teams playing in various leagues. There are typically three cask beers available, including on my visit Bradfield Farmers Blonde, Moorhouse’s Pride of Pendle and Weetwood Cheshire Cat. A classic example of a welcoming, characterful community local.

Note: I understand that the pub has now been substantially altered, and most of the historical features removed, so the above description remains as a record of how it used to be.

WHAT ARE REAL PUBS?

Real pubs are pubs whose primary function is still the original core purpose of pubs – for people to meet and socialise over a few drinks.

They may serve food, and very good food at that, but they don’t allow it to dominate to the exclusion of all else. They’ll probably have a strong core of regular customers, but still make casual drinkers welcome. They may well serve a good drop of real ale, but won’t be full of beer bores droning on about hop varieties and IBUs.

In many parts of the country they’re getting very hard to find. In recent years, the smoking ban, beer duty hikes, the demonisation of “one-drink driving” and the general anti-alcohol climate have all had their effect, but such pubs do still survive if you know where to look and deserve to be celebrated.

Although in many ways they are a laudable organisation, this blog is not connected with and does not in any way represent the Campaign for Real Ale.

The inclusion of a pub does not necessarily reflect a recent visit by myself, although often it does.

1 comment:

Carl17 August 2020 at 17:22
I tried to visit this in November based on this review, unfortunately it was closed for refurbishment. It can't have been closed for very long at all at that point. I haven't been back since, but I know somebody who has, and the news doesn't sound very inspiring. That's about the 4th time in the past year that I've had the same experience, unfortunately.