The Chatsworth

The postman deposited the 2026 edition of the Good Beer Guide next to the front door a week-or-so back.  No more having to look at a soap opera pub on the cover. 
Foreword by Mock the Week favourite Ed Byrne.  Magnetic bookmark promoting pork scratchings (no vegetarian alternative alternative 😞).

A perusal of the Oxfordshire entries reveals 18 changes since last year, 3 of which I've never set foot in.  So we set straight out on a dull grey Saturday to tick one of those off in Banbury.

Before the new tick, a revisit to another '26 guide entry.
Turning right at the top of the station road, we crossed across the railway bridge, the other side of which is technically Grimsbury rather than Banbury, the Oxon/Northants border once being between the two.

The Bell Inn (12 Middleton Road, Banbury, OX16 4QJ)
This is somewhere that has changed a fair bit since I last visited.  Gone is the old two-room layout with a central bar between them.  It was refurbished in 2019 to create one open-plan space with a long bar along the front side.
Tub chair loungey bit to one end: pool table and darts at the other, complete with high tables with stools you need to bring your mountaineering gear to get into. 

Cask ales on the bar were Wye Valley 'HPA' (that's a beer that's getting around a fair bit) and Bath Ales 'Gem'.  I ordered the Gem, served in a Bath Ales glass, a smooth, slightly sweet, easy-drinking amber beer.
Extra marks for the Bell for their bespoke beer mats...

But of course I'm gonna grumble... we really didn't need the volume cranked up to ear-splitting level for the TV coverage of the athletics.

Throughout the rooms are a handful of tin signs and the occasional tool on the wall, reflecting the previous use of part of the building as a mechanic's garage.  Football stickers on the cistern in the gents indicate that this is probably the closest pub to Banbury United, although what Herta BSC were doing here stickering the toilet, I have no idea.

My pictures were snapped on arrival, before a steady stream of locals made there way in to the extent that we had to squeeze past folks when departing.

We relished the quiet when stepping outside the pub.  Then looked nervously to the darkening clouds as we set off on a 1-mile walk into suburbs previously unexplored.
The weather was on our side today - the downpour kindly held off until we were settled inside the Chatsworth.

The Chatsworth (Chatsworth Drive, Banbury, OX16 9YJ)
This estate pub previously took its name from Banbury's nursery rhyme and was called the Cock Horse.  2019 saw a name change and a complete refurbishment by the ambitiously monikered Gamechanger Pub Co.
They seem to have pulled off quite a feat here, creating a community pub to suit all.  To the left of the front door is a bright airy dining space with sky-lights, plants and plentiful pictures.
The right-hand side of the pub is divided into lounge and caual seating around a pool table.

Consequently there was a diverse mix of punters here - diners who probably considered it quite nice 'for a pub', blokes in their DIY clobber, couples, and youngsters on the Peroni and chips. 
Probably not so many tickers looking for beers from rare microbreweries based on the big name cask selection...

Although I will decalre that the 'Ghost Ship' was on top form.

Will the new inclusion in the GBG tempt folks to make the trek from the town centre?
I make the claim to be the first and take the tragic photo to prove it...

I promised Mrs PropUptheBar craft beer in Banbury, the pedestrian beer range so far having not tickled her fancy.  We departed the lounge of the Chatsworth just as the 4pm birthday party reservation arrived, Google maps directing us through the maze of estate footpaths in which we'd surely still be lost without technology to assist us.

A quick post-rain shower picture of Banbury Cross with added rainbow action...

Then onward to the craft beer bar...

Apothecary Tap (10-11 Butchers Row, Banbury, OX16 5JH)
The Tap came into existance in 2019, taking over the Church Lane site where the Old Town micro pub used to be.  They've since moved to much bigger premises, the Butchers Row location offering two rooms, outdoor seating in the yard, and - one step up from the micro - more than one toilet!

A minute to study the beer list..10 draft lines, 2 boxed ciders.  (There's also a hefty can selection in the fridge should none of those on the screen be to your liking).

I picked the Otherworld 'Papillon', all the way from Midlothian, a tangy, fruity, murky IPA. 

Then back for a half of the Track 'Dreaming of DDH', complete with commendation for the choice from the owner.

There was a good crowd in the Tap, loitering by the bar and working their way though the crafty selection.  More folks outside, more in the side room under speakers booming out live versions of rock classics.

Just don't get tempted by the bench closest to the bar - it's reserved for the Apothecary pub dog...

A pub trip to Banbury isn't complete without a visit to the Olde Reine Deer.
The signage (and the whole street to be fair) looking quite marvelous in the dusk...

Olde Reine Deer Inn (47 Parsons Street, Banbury, OX16 5NA)
I really like this historic pub - an assault of dark wooden beams and pillars when you walk through the front door.  Even without the fire lit, this has a wonderfully cosy feel, dimly lit, a murmur of conversation, lots of pictures on the walls, proper pub seating, almost all of it taken although it's not rammed like you'd once have expected on a Saturday evening.

You tend to get a full range of Hook Norton beers in the Reine Deer, including the lesser seen 2.8% mild, plus seasonal specials and one-offs.
I ordered a pint of the 'Brewed Awakening' which sounds every bit like it should be a coffee stout yet was actually a regular 3.4% light bitter.

Rather than squeeze into a gap in the front room, we took our drinks through the busier back bar and onward to the Globe Room.  Okay, so not as cosy - and lacking the hubbub of plentiful custom - but this is a superb pub room with a bit of heritage.

The Globe Room dates back to 1637 and is reputed to have been used by Cromwell as he plotted tactics for the nearby Battle of Edgehill, as well as it being used as a court room to try captured Royalists.
It's an eye-catching room now, but was originally much more extravagant with an intricate platerwork ceiling. That's long gone, although the plaster casts are held at the V&A museum.  The wood panelling was sold in 1912, only to sit in storage in London and eventually be returned to Banbury in the sixties, then reinstated in the room in 1984.

A throughly peaceful pub visit, sunk into armchairs in olde worlde surroundings, with a bit of pub grub and Hook Norton ales.  What more could we want?

Perhaps just the one more venue before the train?
Oh go on then...
We decided to visit the remaining current Good Beer Guide entry - something of a regular...

The White Horse (52 N Bar Street, Banbury OX16 0TH)
I've always enjoyed calling into the Everard's-owned White Horse which has never let me down on beer choice or quality.  Although I don't think I've ever seen it so quiet, which was odd for Saturday evening.

Two Everards specials alongside the 'Tiger', plus a Stancil 'Barnsley Bitter' a fair way from home, or the Little Ox local.
All looking a very similar colour judging by the jam jars on display...

I opted for the Everards 'Banshee' - a sub-5% 'session' IPA.  Enjoyable enough whilst not challenging for beer of the day.  (Despite the craft beers, that accolade probably goes to the Ghost Ship at the Chatsworth).

For once we didn't sit on the big leather diner booths on the left-side of the pub. 

With an eighties music selection including Inxs, Madness, and Madonna, we supped the final beers of the day in the quiet section to the side of the door unti the friendly bar staff came to try and stroke the dog.
He barked angrily at them.
His way of telling us we'd been out far too long - quite enough pubs for the day - time to go home.