The Land Of Liberty, Peace & Plenty
Heronsgate
67.5%
Up down pub ranking
| Beer: | CAMRA "pub of the year" 10 years running. Always have half a dozen real ales from around the country and a couple of lagers and ciders. Ales change regularly. Never fails to please serious beer drinkers. See Untappd |
| Not beer: | Loads of whiskies, gins and soft drink options. L&S a little pricey as it is not from a hose. |
| Food | Limited menu of snackish items. Very nice pork pies but no chips or other cooked food. Since our last visit it seems possible to arrange other food options given proper notice. Watch this space.. |
| Hashmosphere | Traditional venue but somewhat "bjjou" inside. So when we bring 50 hashers it would be good to have nice weather so we can use the facilities of the garden. (Note: being boring on your phone is not permitted.) |
Comments
The pub's fascinating name is taken from a 19th-century Chartist slogan. The leader of the movement for working-class rights, Feargus O'Connor, planned a settlement at Heronsgate in the mid-1840s where families would escape the tyranny of factory life for rural self-sufficiency. O'Connor bought the land and divided it into 35 plots with 15 cottages and other dwellings. Bad weather and lack of agricultural skills among the participants meant the experiment failed. In more recent times, Clement Attlee, the post-war Labour prime minister, and the spy Kim Philby lived at Heronsgate. The pub strongly supports craft breweries.
Poor old Feargus didn't master the art of growing old gracefully...