GAVIN AITCHISON finds the beer in great condition at The Blue Boar in Castlegate.

OUR photographer has done my job for me this week, or part of it at least. Do you see the pint that Jason Hawkins is holding in the picture above?

Well it’s a pint of Timothy Taylor’s Landlord and our camera-man Anthony had a sup of it after he’d taken that very photo. And he promptly declared it the best Landlord he’d ever had.

High praise indeed and not an isolated compliment.

A few days earlier, when I had popped in after work, I had a pint of Ossett Brewery’s Silver King and it too was absolutely perfect.

Now you might say that the true test will be whether the beer remains so good, several weeks or months down the line, which is true.

But suffice to say that if it does, then The Blue Boar will be a thoroughly welcome addition to York’s beer scene.

If you’re wondering where this place is then it’s the pub that was previously The Little John, at the top of Castlegate.

Long before that, until the late 1800s, it was The Robin Hood, although it is another more notorious highwayman who is the centre of attention these days.

After his execution in 1739, Dick Turpin’s body was taken to a pub in Castlegate called The Blue Boar. There is no evidence whatsoever that it was the same pub as now bears the name, and indeed there’s quite compelling evidence that it is not – but the menus embrace the link nonetheless, regaling the tourists with enchanting ghost stories.

We sceptical natives can concentrate instead on the beer and food, which certainly impress. On the bar are five ales, all from Yorkshire: Timothy Taylor’s Landlord and Golden Best, Theakston’s Old Peculier and Best Bitter, and Ossett Silver King, and there are also some bottled beers from Taylor’s.

Landlord Jason Hawkins, who also runs The Three Tuns in nearby Coppergate, says the beer range will be fixed for the foreseeable future because it covers a broad range of tastes, but he may look at rotating guest ales in future if the demand is there.

He says the pub will be a “modern interpretation of a traditional English pub”, which is an apt description.

The building dates back hundreds of years and has two fantastic little cellar rooms open to the public, which will be ideal for private functions, meet the brewer nights and live music, and there are also remnants of a well.

Upstairs, the pub has a modern feel, with lots of pastel shades and bright lighting but also some nice historical artefacts, with a wall given over to old beer posters.

As for the food, the menu is lengthy and varied with a good range of jacket potatoes, sandwiches, burgers and pub classics.

Back in the Victorian times, when this pub last changed its name, the then landlord put up a sign to remind people of the change: “Robin Hood is dead and gone; now come and drink with Little John,” it read. It seems a shame the Robin Hood name was ever lost, not least because the outlaw would be a good ally these days for weary drinkers and landlords who are being fleeced by the taxman.

But The Blue Boar is a fine name too, notwithstanding the questionable claims. Perhaps Jason will be tempted to put up a similar ditty of his own, to mark one pub boar to be cherished.

“The Little John is now no more – so come and drink with The Blue Boar.”


• FOR those who missed it last week, The Deramore Arms in Heslington is hosting a “meet the brewer” night with Leeds Brewery from 6pm next Thursday. Six Leeds beers will be on the bar.

Pivní in Patrick Pool is hosting its second beer and cheese night, at 7.30pm on Monday. It’s £20 a head and staff promise exciting and rare beers.