Queen's Head, Newton: In the Good Beer Guide for 50 years

The Queen's Head in Newton is one of only five pubs to have made it into every edition of the Campaign for Real Ale's (Camra) Good Beer Guide since it was first published 50 years ago. But what is the secret of this family-run pub in Cambridgeshire and what is its enduring charm?

The first edition of the beer guide in 1972 cost 75p and had very brief descriptions of 1,500 pubs and 105 breweries - The Queen's Head being a "friendly pub with hot snacks and skittles".

The 2023 Good Beer Guide of 4,500 pubs and more than 1,800 brewers notes that "change comes gradually" to The Queen's Head, which has expanded the food it offers but "otherwise little has changed since 1974".

Indeed, it does still have the same skittles table - although it has just been dismantled to make way for Christmas decorations.

Here, its current landlord and regulars tell us what makes the pub worthy of its annual place in the guide.

Rob Short's family took over the Queen's Head in 1962, saving it from planned demolition - and they have been there ever since.

Like his father and grandfather before him, Mr Short is "inordinately fond of a good pint", he admits.

Perhaps the pub has something that keeps its owners there, as a plaque on the wall states there have only been 18 landlords since 1729.

"I'm a stickler for quality and making sure the beer here is in good condition all the time," Mr Short says, speaking of the pub's 50th entry in the Good Beer Guide.

"It comes from the barrel and not through a pump - a lot of people like it that way."

When his family took over the building in 1962 there was no hot water and no toilet, he says.

And his father and grandfather had "never served a pint in their lives".

But the community was behind them, he says.

Being in a small village south of Cambridge, the pub attracts its regulars, but with weekly street food trucks, punters are drawn to Newton and "we welcome everyone", says Mr Short.

Being in the guide is "a very humbling thing", he says.

"It's voted for by customers and ours are lovely.

"A pub is only as good as its customers and we are very lucky."

Ollie Belson, 46, has been frequenting the pub for about 25 years.

"There's always been good chat, friendly faces, good beer and it is just actually a really friendly place to come and drink," he says.

"To just come down and meet people - randomly - rather than organising somewhere to meet - it's a real community place like that."

Does it deserve its place in the Good Beer Guide?

"Generally speaking, it's very good and it's one of the few places you'll get beer straight out of the barrel.

"And if you like your real ale, then it's a haven for that."

Has he tried the famous bar skittles mentioned in the original guide?

"I have, yes, many times. I am no good at it," he admits.

"The Good Beer Guide is based entirely on personal recommendations made by local Camra members, which are rigorously reviewed by branches and editors," a Camra spokesman says.

"Criteria has not changed much over 50 years, but the competition today is fiercer than ever before, with more fantastic pubs serving great beer across the country than was even imaginable 50 years ago."

There is a "national beer scoring system" which is combined with other factors such as facilities and atmosphere.

"Each year pubs start from a clean slate... which means we're really looking at the cream of the crop each time."

Camra refers to the five pubs which have made it into each edition since its incarnation as "the famous five".

As well as the Queen's Head, the following are listed:

"What brings me back here is the relaxation and camaraderie," says Rob Thomas, another regular.

"The old faces you know, and you chat to them about many different things - and then you meet many new people."

Is the beer good?

"The beer's excellent - I wouldn't be here if it wasn't."

It "absolutely" deserves its place in the guide, Mr Thomas says.

"In these days where the emphasis is on home-working, stuff like that can be very isolating after working in an office all the time.

"But you can come down here for a chat, an escape - a home away from home."

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