The Drewe Arms, Drewsteignton, Devon

I have just finished reading the most recent Issue 68/Summer 2025 of the CAMRA BEER magazine, which has an article concerning 6 public houses that they have given Heritage Awards to, particularly acknowledging the efforts of those who have saved or revitalised these historic pubs. It's pretty difficult to get to read CAMRA (website) stuff, if not a member, so I am adding this link to the local paper, the Crediton Courier, that provides similar content regarding the only 1 of the 6 that I have been to, as far as my memory tells me. Indeed, yes, only 1! 😕

These 2 images of the pub in question. the Drewe Arms (website) and church next door, Holy Trinity (North Dartmoor Parishes), are both from Holiday in Dartmoor, many thanks to them, much appreciated. Because it is ages since I've visited this part of Dartmoor, probably not since the 1980s, that I do not have my own digital photographs of the pub and village. And you will presume from what I have written so far that this pub, actual address The Square, Drewsteignton EX6 6QN, is on Dartmoor, indeed, near to the north-eastern edge.

The building that became the Drewe Arms was built in the 17th century, with refurbishments in the 19th and 20th centuries and, unsurprisingly, is Grade II Listed. In the 19th century it was called the New Inn, presumably there used to be another inn locally, or it replaced a previous pub following refurbishment. It became the Drewe Arms a hundred years ago, after a brief spell as the Druid Arms. When I first visited in the late 1970s, Mabel Mudge was the licensee, having been so since 1919, first with her husband for 32 years until he passed away, then alone for another 43 years until she retired in 1994 aged 99 years old, and being the longest serving landlady in the country (75 years!), much respect to her. 

The pub, as far as I'm aware, has been sympathetically kept. From 1994 it was managed by a few companies until the local community bought this wonderful old pub in 2023, and now manage the Drewe Arms as a community asset, hence the Heritage Award, nice one. 👍

Having seen images of the interior, it looks to have the same feel, a room to your left as you enter, the bar and cellar behind a doorway to your left just afterwards, with a stable door and small 'surface' on which to deposit your glass, pleasantly basic. 😁 I remember Mabel well, indeed, you could hardly forget her, or the atmosphere of this friendly warm wee pub, and I visited at different times of the year when I lived in Devon. This is so much an addition to places to return to, with hearty congratulations to the local folk who have kept this going, cheers m'dears! 🍺

CAMRA joins me in Campaign for FULL Pints!

It was good to see the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) calling for a pint to be a pint in their Winter 2024 edition of their magazine BEER, following their lobbying of all political parties before the General Election on Independence Day a few months ago (CAMRA). CAMRA points out that the Chartered Trading Standards Institute has found that 'most beer served in pubs and bars are short measure.' I've been saying this for years, eg blog. 🍺

Let's hope trying to influence this Government works better this time; indeed, Labour Party policy in 1997 was to introduce lined pint glasses in pubs, it appears the big brewers had a bigger influence then, despite 'New Labour' winning the 1997 General Election by a mile! 😣

Don't hold your combined breath... 

Bridge Inn, Topsham plus another Brewery going, going...

This blog was stimulated on reading the Winter 2022 issue of the CAMRA magazine BEER, which includes an article about statutory protection of pubs in England; the article mentions 2 pubs that I have visited regularly in the past, one of which is The Bridge Inn, Bridge Hill, Topsham EX3 0QQ. My first trip to The Bridge Inn was in 1985, when I visited in the old days of different opening hours in the countryside, with similar hours to Exeter (I was working for Exeter Health Authority), in the summer (Summer Opening), but closing earlier at night from the end of the summer holidays. Anyway, fewer evening hours when I went with my girlfriend of the time, and future ex-wife Julie, presumably she knew about the pub and encouraged me to go. 

Anyway, a bit of a first when I visited, something I'd never seen before, mostly because my earlier drinking had not been in free houses, a BEER MENU. How excited I was, written up on a board, I can't remember how many ales they sold, but somewhere between 8 and 10! Now it appears, from their facebook page, that they have 7 ales; recently including mild and dark ales from West Country brewers Teignworthy (website) and Pitchfork (website), plus more paler ales, eg from Powderkeg (website). The other lovely thing was, they go to the cellar to pour the ales straight from the cask into the glass and bring them back to the customer, and I've always been dead impressed with ales delivered by gravity ever since, cheers!

This 16th century pub has been in the ownership of the same family since 1897, and what a great job they've done to keep it such a homely place to visit. My first visit was in midweek, in the early Autumn, and it was very quiet, with only us 2 and a couple of farmers in the room. I seem to remember a roaring fire, although they appear to have a stove (above, photo from their facebook page, cheers!). Although we weren't listening to the other 2 customers in the room (we were in the 'getting to know' you phase of our relationship), we couldn't understand much of what they were saying, they were speaking that fast and with heavy Devonian country accents; I'd only been living in Devon for a couple of months, but now I'd really arrived... 😉

As you can see from the top photograph (many thanks to Building Design), the pub isn't that small, although it is very homely. When I was living in Exeter, they used to open up a much larger bar/room in the summer/when more customers were there, and they served ales from handpumps in that bar. My brother, Dan, came down and stayed with us once (more than once actually) when he was attending a friend's wedding in Topsham. We drove him to The Bridge Inn to meet up with other friends of his who were also attending the wedding, and he was dead impressed with the pub too. However, what I'm getting at is that it is a wonderful old pub selling excellent ales from West Country brewers, and I do need to make a return very soon!

Not so great news though, as the Cumbrian brewer Jennings (website, and cheers for image above), which was bought out by Marston's in 2005, has stopped brewing, despite their history going back to 1828, and from 1874 at the current site, just 2 miles away from their origin. Another larger brewery switching the brewing of its subsidiary's beers to another of its sites sadly (News & Star), presumably another accountant's decision. 😞

Cheers for now folks!