Campaign for Real Pubs: The Grape Vaults

The Grape Vaults, Leominster, Herefordshire HR6 8BS

The Grape Vaults stands on the north side of the town centre at the top of the handsome Georgian Broad Street. Behind the plain two-bay frontage is a surprisingly shallow interior little changed since the Victorian era, which earns it a Regional entry on CAMRA’s National Inventory. The fron of the pub is basically a single room, with the bar counter on the left-hand side, original fireplaces and plenty of half-height tongue-and-groove panelling and bench seating. To the rear a small snug is separated off by a glazed screen. The original gents’ toilets are extremely compact.

It currently showcases beers from Ludlow Brewery just over the border in Shropshire, and a range of straightforward pub food is served. There is a good town pub atmosphere, with tourists mingling with old boys clustering around the bar.

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.

Campaign for Real Pubs

The Grape Vaults

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