Ye Olde Cider Bar

Newton Abbot, Devon

One Of England's Last Remaining Cider Houses

Note: Click on the pictures below to see larger versions

Tom Putt writes:

Ye Olde Cider Bar in Newton Abbot, Devon, England is a very special place for scrumpy users; special because it is a surviving example of a rarity whose numbers have dwindled over the centuries: the cider house. As the name implies, this is a bar that sells cider to the public, but a cider house is not a pub - maybe most (if not all) pubs these days sell some form of cider (even though most only sell the inferior keg variety), but a cider house definitely does not sell any beer!

Once upon a time there was a large number of alehouses in England, selling only ale (beer) to the public, and similarly there were many cider houses dispensing cider to their thirsty patrons. Over the years, alehouses became public houses selling a wider range of drinks than just beer - wines and spirits included. Meanwhile, many former cider houses became pubs, with the result that today we expect our pubs to sell just about any form of alcoholic drink, as well as soft drinks.

At the last count, there were only four surviving cider houses in England - in the whole of Britain, for that matter. One of these extremely rare and special places is this cider house in Devon - Ye Olde Cider Bar in the market town of Newton Abbot on the scenic River Teign, between historic Exeter and the tourist resort of Torquay.

Who needs beer, anyway?!

Although I said the Cider Bar only sells cider, this is not the whole story, as it does also sell perry, as well as a range of draught country wines and soft drinks - but absolutely no beer or spirits. Who needs them when you have a choice of several real draught ciders and perries, anyway?! Entering the bar is like stepping back thirty or forty years - the decor is what would now be called minimalist, with no carpets and wooden stools and settles.

The furniture is an interesting feature of the bar in its own right, being fashioned from cask staves with hardwood tops (a word of warning - the stools in particular are rather top heavy, and this, combined with the inward-curving legs, makes them easy to topple over, especially after a few pints of cider - as Zider Delia will testify after a recent visit!). Even the bar itself is clad with staves, giving the whole place an attractive rustic look. This is no mere fashion fad; it's just the way everyone likes it, so there's no reason to change it for change's sake - something which, sadly, all too many pubs have done in recent years.

But the Cider Bar's no museum - it's a thriving meeting place, just like the best pubs, where locals and visitors alike come to chat over a few pints, in a friendly atmosphere. The bar's only concessions to modernity are the one-armed bandit and the TV suspended from the ceiling, mainly used only for sporting occasions. The main focal point is not the TV but the bar itself - an array of massive oak cider casks is surrounded and surmounted by the familiar polycasks, some containing more varieties of cider and perry, and others an incredible range of country wines - from birch to blackberry, parsnip to peach, sloe, cowslip, elderflower, and many more. And if you need something to wash down with your pint, why not try one of the freshly made cheese and onion or ham rolls, or one of the bar's justly famous pasties!

Stretching back from the main bar area by the front door is the famous Long Bar, home of the Cork Club which has held regular outings for its members since the early 1900s. Photographs of members past and present cover the walls (the photo here dates from 1911 and is the earliest known photograph taken of a Cork Club outing). There's also a games room at the back and a cider garden behind the main bar.

The Newton Abbot Cider Bar is a gem which shouldn't be missed by any true scrumpophile visiting this lovely part of South Devon - as well as being close to the resorts it's only a few miles from Dartmoor, with its many opportunities to work up a decent thirst! I for one will be back there again as soon as I can. As Zider Ed would say - Churz!

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