Secret Drinker reviews The Blue Bell Inn at Tattershall Thorpe
Drinkers including Prince William, Ewan McGregor and famed Dambuster Johnny Johnson have all signed the ceiling of the Blue Bell Inn.
But, believe it or not, that’s by no means the most interesting thing about this truly amazingly, wonderful pub.
For pretty much any hostelry in the country, a visit from the future king would be enough to launch a very successful marketing campaign.
But here - at this country boozer and restaurant where the building dates back to 1257 - the Duke of Cambridge’s scrawl is merely a sidenote for a venue steeped with history and intrigue.
There’s a lot to cram in here, so please bear with me.
I was pretty much won over by the Blue Bell before I’d got out the car, this beautiful-looking building accentuated by a proper traditional pub sign in the shape of a bell, plenty of outside seating, a ‘welcome, come on Inn!’ pun scrawled on an old boneshaker and a sizeable beer garden including a seat custom carved from a tree trunk.
In through the door and you’re met with the ‘Rules of the Inn’ which list all the things that are not permitted inside, including ‘thieves, fakirs, rogues, tinkers, skulking loafers or flea-bitten tramps’.
I was a little gutted to see ‘tankard banging’ and ‘slap an tickle o’ the wenches’ was a no-no here, but I found myself more than happy to hand my sword and flintlock in at the bar.
A nearby blackboard let me know of the upcoming events; live music, a quiz, karaoke and vinyl night… which I presumed would be something to do with old 12” records but hoped was encouraging patrons to dress like Britney Spears in the Ooops… I Did It Again video.
After scanning all the rules and double-checking there were no fleas on me I finally made it inside, almost smacking my head on the low brown beams that hold the roof up.
‘Duck or grouse’ read an enjoyable sign on one beam which would have warned me sufficiently had I spotted it earlier and not taken a little too long to figure out the gag.
Although not at that moment - I was too busy thanking my lucky stars I didn’t plant the nut on a piece of timber 800 years my senior - it did turn out to be extremely handy that the ceiling was so low. But more of that in a moment.
A warm fire greeted me into a room where the bar catches your eye as drinkers and diners fill the many seats.
Through a doorway to the left you could squeeze through to a conservatory, or to The Lancaster Room.
The Blue Bell may have been operating as an inn since the 1500s, but the real rich history of the place comes from its past glory as a popular RAF watering hole during the Second World War.
Surrounding me in the Lancaster Room were framed prints and paintings of those bombers while models - and even a piece of an old Lanc, yes, you read that correctly - hung from the ceiling.
Never knowing whether or not they would return from their next mission, there was something of a fast and loose approach to life for the wartime patrons of this Tattershall Thorpe pub; and with the a WAAFery (a base for members of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force) down the road at Woodhall, the servicemen stationed at the nearby bases were more than happy to head to the Blue Bell to mingle with members of the fairer sex.
That live-for-the-moment approach to life was emphasised even more back in the bar area where a smattering of wartime coins can be seen stuck in the beams.
Crews heading off on a mission would place their change into gaps in the wood, knowing they’d have enough in the bank to enjoy a celebratory drink were they to be among the fortunate ones who made it back.
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In more recent years collectors began turning up and half-inching the coins. But the pub soon wised up and a small number of coins were hammered deep into the timber to ensure they couldn’t be taken by these sticky fingered rogues who clearly can’t read a sign.
Due to its rich RAF past, the Blue Bell has become something of a pilgrimage for plane enthusiasts, with servicemen invited to sign the ceiling (no step ladder needed, it’s low enough).
Prince William and Sqdn Ldr George ‘Johnny’ Johnson, the last surviving original member of 617 Sqdn, are the most famous to have added their names, while movie star Ewan McGregor and his brother Colin - a former Tornado pilot who was stationed at RAF Coningsby, and allegedly had the brilliant call sign Obi-Two, a nod to his sibling’s Star Wars role - were invited to sign when they dropped by whilst filming a documentary in the area.
But arguably the most touching signature belonged to Alfred Weinke, a German pilot.
And if that’s not enough glorious history for you then, well, the Blue Bell also has a Priest Hole - a hiding place for Catholic clergy when their branch of religion was outlawed in this country - tucked away in an upstairs room, something of an irony considering legend states Henry VIII has also popped in for a pint.
And to make the story of the Blue Bell all the more amazing, this thriving pub and restaurant almost shut for good a couple of years back, no thanks at all to Covid and the cost of living crisis.
This column would never have been written were it not for seven villagers who put together a consortoium to keep their local going. Bar room heroes, the lot of them.
I was very fortunate on my visit to the Blue Bell to encounter two fascinating gentlemen, from whom I gleaned most of the information shared with you in this column.
One, a history buff, the other now on civvy street after serving the Falklands and the Gulf, were generous with there time and enthralling with their information.
To them I’m extremely grateful, even if - in a less strict pub - they might have shunned me in preference of slapping and tickling the wenches.
THE BLUE BELL INN, THORPE ROAD, TATTERSHALL THORPE, LN4 4PE
DECOR: I’m no plane enthusiast, I care little for wartime history. But there’s no way I couldn’t be in absolute awe of this place, from the signatures to the coins to the piece of Lanc hanging above me. This old watering hole is just a pleasure to be inside. 5/5
DRINK: I had my first-ever pint of Greene King Prior Life (ABV 3.4%), an all-day IPA with tropical notes. I was a big fan. 4/5
PRICE: I thought £4.50 was decent considering what I’d pay for similar drinks. 4/5
ATMOSPHERE: The place was packed. It was mostly diners when I arrived on this Sunday afternoon, but there was a real feel of life around the place… and the plane buffs who spoke to me couldn’t have been nicer. 4/5
STAFF: There was a lot of staff milling about, taking orders, serving food and pulling pints. All chipping in. All very nice. 3/5
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