They don't make them like this any more...
The village of Luppitt is situated about seven miles north of Honiton in East Devon, down narrow lanes in a quiet, rural setting.And here lies a pub that I've wanted to get to for some time, The Luppitt Inn (EX14 4RT).
It needs to be timed right: it only opens between 7pm and 10.30pm, Monday to Saturday.
So with my mum in tow (enduring being dragged to her second pub in one day) we navigated the lanes and found our way there on a rainy Saturday evening. We wondered for a moment if it was closed and we'd had a wasted trip, but peering in the window, the landlady beckoned from the other room for us to come on in.
The landlady in question is Mary Wright, who inherited the pub from her husband, who in turn inherited it from his father, Charles Wright over 100 years ago. Mrs Wright switched off the TV in her living room beyond the bar, ambled out in carpet slippers and wasted little time informed us that she was 96 years old.
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| Our talkative host and landlady, Mrs Mary Wright, sat behind the bar at the Luppitt Inn |
"Do you want a beer then?" Mrs Wright asked, before instructing me to pour the beers myself from the polypin just behind the bar.
The pub is located in the front rooms of the large 19th century farmhouse, with a simple bar room and a second room to the side, apparently little-used, with fireplace and darts board. We settled on the solitary round table next to the bar with a pint of Otter Bitter (brewed about one mile away). On the table there were a number of iron and wood puzzles made by a neighbour which made for a good talking point as our host challenged us to work them out. (Me: short attention span, giving up after a couple of minutes; my mum: much better, almost solving them; Mrs Propupthebar: predictably managed to complete the puzzles and look suitably smug having done so. Bah!)
There were once numerous pubs like this, serving the local farming communities, but this is now a rare surviving example in an age of pub closures and smart foodie village 'pubs'. I'm delighted to have made it here and it stands out as one of the most unique pub-going experiences I've had in many-a-year.
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| The wonderful Luppitt Inn, Luppit, Devon |
This little pub sounds fantastic and along with my two sons is definitely on our bucket list , very best regards to Mary.Stan
ReplyDeleteI visit this delightful little Inn about once a year & am due a visit soon, maybe Saturday eve if there's no more rain!
ReplyDeleteA legend attached to this pub is that in 1943-44, US servicemen - including those of 'Easy Coy' (the BoB) - used to drink in there, and Mrs Wright was around to serve them.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's an incredible bit of information.
DeleteI recently read that there were plans afoot to reopen the Inn, after Mrs Wright's sad passing a few years ago. Hopefully that happens, although it's never going to be the same as it was when she was in charge.