The Free Press is one of three pubs concealed in the interestingly named Prospect Row near to Parkers Piece, each with a different ambiance and beer offering. In recent history The Free Press had limited fame as a non-smoking pub long before they all were. Having occupied the site for 120 years it has not changed much in the time I have visited (don’t ‘refurbish’ it please…), the Greene King beers are supplemented by many other temptations, on this encounter Skinner’s Betty Stogs (4%,’an easy drinking copper ale’) had survived the journey from its Cornish brewery very well.
The bar staff seem friendly and polite, dealing with a large age range of locals and visitors. A reasonably sized terrace beer garden is squeezed into a deceptively small open area at the back, all very pleasant and has the look of a provincial branch line station where there is one of those hidden micro-pubs. There are also tables outside the front next to the traffic free-ish road, all perfect for a summer evening. A proper snug behind its own door adjoins the main bar area and dark furniture and features add to the timeless atmosphere.
As well as wall-mounted collections of tickets, corks and other ephemera there are many newspaper cuttings from the 20th Century on display, Marshal Timoshenko in World War Two and a Daily Telegraph from 1981 commemorating the wedding of Charles and Diana that looks even older…
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