Latest reviews from Hanley Castle
| 82 /100 Three Kings (Bar) CHURCH END “Visited as part of heritage pub tour. Tucked away behind a school it's not visible from the main road. Some tables outside with empty glasses, place looked deserted. Upon entering we found ourselves in a small bar room with wooden interior. Problem was nobody seemed to be inside. However at one point we did hear some voices in the back. Opening the only doors in a room wasn't much of a help since it was some kind of storage room. Soon we've realized there was a second entrance on the right which connects two bars with a corridor. The other room was way bigger, but seemed very cluttered with all sorts of stuff. Lots of pickled vegetables and eggs jars (in Croatia we would call it zimnica). Since it was nearing 3 pm we were pretty much the only guests and were served our beers very quickly. They had 4 casks I haven't seen elsewhere. The beers were good quality and in excellent shape. We had a nice chat with an owner and were offered some snacks and cheeses from the bar. Interior looks very historical (and a bit rundown) and I doubt it has changed much over the decades. One of the best pubs experiences on our tour, I wish we could spend more time here. Worth the detour.“ |
| 78 /100 Three Kings (Bar) CHURCH END “I have been meaning to get to this pub for many years as it is a constant in the GBG and has been run by the same family for well over 100 years. It is quite ramshackle in appearance, it looks like two different cottages from the outside which are joined by an internal door and yard. The bar is round to the right, you sort of have to go round the side of the building, but there is also a lounge and a snug. The whole affair appears to be run by one lady who loves providing an interesting range of well kept beer, constantly updating her customers with what is to come. I had cycled here so I sat out the front and it really is like going back 100 years. It is a classic old pub with 5 changing guest beers. A must visit.“ |
| 78 /100 Three Kings (Bar) CHURCH END “ This year in terms of some Worcestershire pubs I seem to be revisiting my past, like the Mug House at Claines that we visited earlier in the year this is another pub that has taken me well over twenty years to revisit. On my last visit here which would have been in the early nineties with Worcester CAMRA, we were interviewed by BBC Midlands today as this pub had just won either the regional West Midlands pub of the year or CAMRAs national pub of the year (not sure which as it won both around the same time), my friends back in Banbury videoed my telling the interviewer that it was a ’cracking pint in a cracking pub’. Well guess what it still is a cracking pint and a cracking pub, though hopefully I might be able to offer a more interesting description now than I did then. The pub is out in the country and can be found about 11-12 miles from Worcester, 1-2 miles from Upton on Severn, 5-6 miles from Great Malvern or 8-9 miles from Tewkesbury. It would appear that Great Malvern offers by far the best option for those wishing to get here via public transport with a 365 bus taking you right into the village and dropping off by the adjacent school. This is a fabulous pub, completely unspoilt and a CAMRA National Inventory gem, and yet another pub at which I am perplexed had not already been reviewed on this site. The Three Kings dates back to the 15th century, its got three small rooms and has been run by the same family for ever and a day (over a hundred years). I looked at an old photo above the bar just as the bar woman (landlady) served me, I said is that you in that photo, it was actually her mother who was the previous landlady they looked the spitting image of each other. The pub is a Grade 2 listed pub and sits near the church and behind a small green with a beautiful old tree. The pub is slightly ramshackle and could no doubt do with a little spring clean, plenty of dust and cobwebs here, but its cosy and very friendly and much like the modern day micro pub this is a place where discussion and beer go hand in hand and the trappings of the modern day don’t get a look in. As you enter there is a room off to the right with a small serving hatch and a lovely old inglenook fire place, there is room for a couple of tables and chairs here. Behind the bar (serving hatch) it all looks a little ramshackle but the landlady is in complete control and I guess everything has its place. There is a smoke room off to the left though this appeared to be not in use and in fact was just looking like a storage room on our visit. There is a further room off to the right hand side. Seating outside and a new set of stocks out here also. Beer choice was Hobsons Best Bitter, Prescott Summer Season and one other Butcombe maybe? we had a couple of half pints of Prescott each at just £2.70 a pint! in fact all of the beers were well under £3. I loved this place, if you are even remotely nearby pop in, ok its a little bit dusty and needs a lick of paint perhaps but it is a ’cracking pub’ :-) “ |
