The Quarrymans Arms
Below you will find a list of reviews of the Quarrymans Arms,
both on-line and in the press.
Web addresses of the original reviews are provided where known.
Hard times are remembered in this
soothing pub. Perched on the heights of Box Hill, Wiltshire it has been an inn
since the 1850s when it was converted from cottages, the homes of miners who
toiled far below the ground to cut out the stone now assembled into the
architectural triumphs of Bath.
The Quarrymans commemorates the work of those brave men with displays of miners'
picks and massive handsaws, wielded for centuries to excavate the miles of
tunnels that have honeycombed the hill into the largest underground quarry in
Britain, perhaps in the world.
There are evocative maps of the mine, photographs of the last days of quarrying
(it ended in 1915) and much memorabilia.
From the lane that leads here across Box Common, the pub is still a
homely-looking place, brightly festooned with cottagey flowers and creeper. And
inside it's equally simple, although you notice straight away the glowing
natural light. This pours in from the rear of the building where a panoramic
window looks out over the patchwork of rolling farmland.
The pub, atop a very steep slope of the hill, has been artfully extended to
provide not just more internal space but a two level lawned terrace, taking the
fullest advantage of that spectacular view.
The extension is a rather smart, gabled affair built with what were fairly sure
was genuine Bath stone. It all blends in as naturally well as you'd expect.
Of course it was raining, even if only intermittently, on the lunchtime last
week that Mrs Halley and I popped in. But it was no hardship to stay indoors.
The space is divided into three zones: a simple front bar through which you pass
into the dining area with the picture window, plus a slightly smarter side room.
There are pump handles for a good range of real ales including Butcombe bitter,
Moles Best and, from the same Wiltshire brewery, Vaulter - nicely timed for the
Olympics. There is also Wadworths 6X and the draught cider is Stowford Press.
Wines are really good. There's a big blackboard listing the many available by
the glass, with prices. As well as several reds (the Chilean Merlot Villa Rosa
at £3.15 is rich. smooth,
blackberry-plump) and whites you also get a choice of two rosés
including excellent, dry Marques de Caceres Rioja at £3.80 and trendy fizzes such
as sparkling Pinot Grigio.
It's a plain sort of pub, but unquestionably stylish and entirely at ease with
itself. Furniture is an eclectic collection of country saleroom tables and
chairs. There's a fruit machine in the front bar and a big TV mounted high on
one wall.
There are very good leather upholstered bar stools. Walls are just cream-emulsioned
lining paper and as the original building here is single storey, the ceiling
beams are purely decorative, plastered with an array of beer mats.
Food is straightforward and good value, with sandwiches starting at £2.95. Most
unusually, Mrs H demanded ham egg and chips, which here cost a modest £6.95.
I went mad and had local sausages ("Box Hill bangers"), egg and chips at £7.25.
We had a wait of about 20 minutes - no hardship in this congenial place - and
the food was delicious, especially the coleslaw that came with the salad
garnish.
There are clearly two tiers to the cooking here, as demonstrated by the enormous
specials blackboard up by the bar. They do grand meat dishes such as Guinea
fowl, Barbary duck and ribeye at prices up to about £15. Fish dishes include
whole baked pink bream. It might not look like a gastropub, but we suspected it
might come pretty close. There's a proper Italian espresso coffee machine. It
seems a forgivable quirk that ketchup, mustard and other sauces come in a
basketful of sachets, transport-caff-style. Do you get these if you order prime
fillet of beef at £15.95?
Staff behind the bar and serving out front were uniformly friendly, helpful and
relaxed. We noticed speakers for a music system, but there was no sound coming
out, which was very welcome to us. It certainly wasn't needed. The place was
abuzz with conversations between a very mixed lot of customers.
This is clearly a community pub. There are village noticeboards and it's a
centre for people visiting the mine, limited areas of which are open to the
public.
The pub's licensees John and Ginny Arundel, who have been here 20 years, do
tours. Just ask.
To find the Quarrymans Arms, we had to ask in the village. We were given good
directions. If you're coming from Bath take the A4 to the centre of Box and turn
right just before the rail bridge, into the estate signed Bargates. When you
reach a T-junction, turn left up Quarry Hill. Near the top, take the lane to the
left signed to Grove Farm and stay on it across the common to the pub.
This low stone building which is ideally situated for cavers, potholers and walkers was once the local of the Bath stone miners which explains a lot of the mining related hardware dotted around the interior. They now run interesting guided trips down the mine. Good food, a warm welcome and sweeping valley views are the other rewards waiting for you at the end of the sinuous drive down a warren of lanes to get here. While many people come for the varied enjoyable bar food, one pleasant modernised room with an open fire, interesting quarry photographs and memorabilia covering the walls, is entirely set aside for drinking the well kept Butcombe, Moles and Wadworths 6X on handpump, and a guest or two from West Country breweries such as Abbey and Bath, good wines, over sixty malt whiskies, and ten or so vintage cognacs. As well as soup and sandwiches (both £2.50), good bar food might include stilton and asparagus pancake (£3.75), camembert parcels (£4.50), moules mariniere (£5.25), lasagne (£7.25), home-made curries or pies (£7.95), various stir fries (£8.25), pork medallions (£9.45), rack of lamb (£11.50), barbary duck (£12.50) and lots of fish such as bass, barracuda, mackerel and tuna; good prompt service. Cribbage, dominoes, fruit machine, shove-ha’penny, football, boules, cricket and piped music. An attractive outside terrace has picnic-sets.
We have been featured in the CAMRA good beer guide for 8 consecutive years now.
A
300 Year old miners pub tucked away in the hillside, with splendid views over
the Colerne valley - great for walkers, cavers, potholers and cyclists. The
snack menu lists burgers, fish and chips and macaroni cheese, whilst the main
menu offers barbary duck, pork dijonnaise and pan fried tuna steak.
Principal beers are Butcombe, Wadworth 6X and Moles
HTV
HTV have recently screened a series entitled "particular pubs". We were featured on episode number 2 of this series.
Every
pop star needs somewhere to drink, and The Quarrymans Arms is a popular pub in
the village. John and Ginny Arundel have run the pub since 1988
"When we first took over the pub it was derelict, but we have slowly done
it up and we have found a lot of old mining equipment that we have used to
decorate the pub".
The Arundels are helped out by bar manager Mark Wade.
Mr Wade says "We are always busy especially at lunchtimes."