Pub makes Camra Good Beer Guide for 50 years and still has same skittles table
A country pub is celebrating after making it onto every edition of the Campaign for Real Ale’s (Camra) Good Beer Guide – for the last 50 years.
The Queen’s Head, in Newton, near Cambridge, first featured in 1972 and was described as a “friendly pub with hot snacks and skittles”.
The latest guide published last month says “little has changed since 1974” and it still has the same skittles table.
The 16th century former coaching inn has been in the Short family since 1962, after being bought by the present licensee’s grandfather, Harry Short.
Harry, then aged 62, purchased the pub which had been closed for some considerable time.
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In fact it and was at risk of being demolished, due to its poor state of repair.
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The Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and his wife leaving the Queens Head in 1965 (PETER DUNNE / McLELLAN)Although Harry was retired from the Ministry of Food, it had always been his ambition to restore an old building.
With the help of his son, David, an accountant, they saw an advert for the sale of The Queen’s Head.
They purchased the listed building and set about repairing and modernising it sympathetically.
David and Robert share a beer at The Queens Head in Newton (JOHN McLELLAN)Since then it has been a watering hole for many happy patrons but its list of fans goes way back in includes Kaiser Wilhelm ll, King George V plus the Shah of Iran and his Empress.
Harry short retired from being the landlord in 1972 and his son, David, moved in as the sole licensee.
It was a year later during a regular delivery of beer that another more special delivery was arriving in a room upstairs as present landlord, Robert, was being born.
Original owner Harry with his son David (JOHN McLELLAN)
The pub has made it into the Good Beer Guide yet again (JOHN McLELLAN)David says, “He was born above the bar, and I called down to the drayman, there’s a far more important delivery going on up here!”
Not surprisingly, Robert Short seems to have been born with the pub trade in his blood.
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At 49 he is now the Queen’s Head’s landlord and is proud, not only to have had the pub in his family for 60 years, but also to have seen it appear in every edition of the Good Beer Guide since it was first published.
The outside of The Queens Head at Newton in Cambridgeshire (JOHN McLELLAN)He regards this an historic milestone for the family.
Robert now lives in the pub with his wife and three children.
He says, “I’m not sure yet if any of my children will carry on the tradition but I’m hoping to continue seeing the Queen’s Head featured in future editions of the Good Beer Guide.”
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