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The Whitchurch Inn, Church Hill, Tavistock, Devon PL19 9ED
Here's a choice place to drink if you are a Yank and sick and tired of the blue-stocking attitude toward drinking found between Canada and Mexico. Why? Because the pub is owned by the church, to be precise, an Anglican place of worship on whose grounds the pub resides. It's a great pub. It has low ceilings, very cozy in bad weather. But it has outdoor tables, right next to the well-groomed churchyard and a quaint road; very handy when the weather is fine. It's a true neighborhood pub, for a lovely old neighborhood on the edge of Dartmoor. So, if you go, you may have a bit of a squeeze getting your car sandwiched between the few others and off the roadway. Small enough price to pay for the privilege, especially for deprived Yanks, of drinking on church grounds, with the blessing of that church.
Perhaps this would be the time to mention that the early church declared that alcohol was a gift from God to be used for our pleasure. While communicants might choose not to drink, to despise alcohol--like MADD and others of that ilk--was heresy. This information is from Alcohol in Western Society from Antiquity to 1800: A Chronological History by Gregory A. Austin, and would seem a worthy addition to any drinking person's library.
The Market Inn, 2 Whitchurch Road, Tavistock, Devon. PL19 9BB
This tiny pub has a bar that cuts through the wall to the front and back rooms. The front room is very close to the street; the back room is close to the parking lot. The parking lot is unusual in that pubs in town don't usually have one. So, parking is less hassle here than a lot of other places. On the other hand, the bars are so small that it is unlikely the lot would ever be overburdened. Of the pubs in this review, this would be the least of a lot of things. It's not old. It's not big. It's not affiliated with a church. It doesn't have a world-class kitchen. No characters abound. Dogs probably wouldn't have room to sit, never mind lie down, if the place were full. But it does have a pool table in the back room. And, of course, it has alcohol. And some food.
Brown's Hotel, 80 West Street, Tavistock, Devon PL19 8AQ. Phone: 01822 618686. Arguably the oldest drinking establishment in Tavistock, Brown's Hotel's building was a 17th century coaching inn. Today, it is a very upscale hotel, restaurant and bar. The bar is small, only a half-dozen or so stools. But it is surrounded by upholstered chairs and sofas which, in turn, surround a fireplace that's a great draw on winter evenings. More formal than the pubs mentioned above, Brown's nonetheless does welcome a number of locals, as well as hotel guests. The bar is not perhaps as well-stocked as those in the other pubs, but the service is impeccable, and the staff will go to great lengths to make what one orders, even if it's a goopy Yank drink with fruit juice and other inessential additions to good booze.
If one cares to adjourn to the dining room, one will have a meal to write home about to follow the cocktail hour.
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