This week GAVIN AITCHISON hails the return of a wandering star at an historic city pub.

IT was the star itself that first caught my eye. Suddenly, out of nothing, there it was – taking pride of place again after an absence stretching back quarter of a century.

There was a star on top of the beam sign of Ye Olde Starre Inne for years, certainly for most of the 1900s.

But it vanished sometime in the mid to late 1980s. I’m told rumours and stories abounded at the time of its disappearance, but any reliable account of what happened seems to have been lost in the mists of time.

So I did a double-take when I spotted a star back atop the beam as I wandered along Stonegate last weekend.

As I looked again I saw the logos for pub chain Taylor Walker, and the combination was enough to tell me that the much-vaunted refurbishment of this ancient pub was now complete, after a couple of postponements.

Spirit Pub Company, which owns the Olde Starre, says it has spent £360,000 on the work, giving it new décor and furniture and tweaking the layout.

There are new seating areas where the kitchen back-room and servery once were and the whole place has been given a tidy up, a very welcome move at a pub that had become jaded and rather ‘hit and miss’.

Many historians and pub enthusiasts were a bit wary of the revamp, fearful that some of the character could be lost, but the central features have been protected and enhanced. The bar room is largely unchanged, the stained glass is still displayed well and the rooms off to the left as you enter remain intact and compact.

The owners are clearly aware of the pub’s historic importance and have treated it well, although someone has blundered on their potted history plaque outside the front door (Thomas Bulman paid for the beam sign to be erected in 1733, not Thomas Bulmer in 1792).

Inaccuracies aside, the refurbishment is a positive one. Pub chains are never as appealing as free-houses, but Taylor Walker are better than many. And, crucially for beer lovers, the work is not just cosmetic.

The cellar has been reconditioned and all the beer lines replaced, which new manager Adrian Denney says “should improve the quality 100-fold”. The pub served more than 400 different ales last year and hopes to do even more this year and if my experiences last weekend are a fair gauge, then they should do well.

Ales on the bar included Theakston’s Old Peculier, Hambleton’s Nightmare and Consett Brewery’s Black Bob and Red Dust.

The last of those was a new one for me and it was excellent – a ruby, malty ale with a strong biscuity flavour.

There are six hand-pulls and the owners say their ambition is to become “the best place for cask ale in York”.

They’ve some way to go if they are to surpass the city’s leading ale pubs, but it’s a laudable aim. The star outside has found its way back to the top of the beam. Hopefully the Starre, licensed since 1644, can now shine brightly again as well.

Shorts

· To mark the 70th anniversary of the Dambusters Raids, Thwaites is giving 5p to Leonard Cheshire Disability for each pint sold of its Lancaster Bomber beer. The offer runs until tomorrow.

· There are beer festivals next Friday to Monday at The Red Lion in Merchantgate (Yorkshire v London) and The Ackhorne in St Martin’s Lane.

· Next Saturday, Yorkshire Heart Brewery at Nun Monkton has a ‘spring extravaganza’ with a tug-of-war, mini beer festival and evening ceilidh. Phone 01423 330716 for details.

· From noon next Saturday, the excellent Stillingfleet Beer Festival takes place in the village hall.

· Also next Saturday, there’s a sausage and ale festival at The Tap and Spile in Monkgate.

Follow Gav on twitter: @pintsofview