The Sun Inn, Beverley: The historic Yorkshire pub which is as cosy as a big pub can feel

The Sun Inn proudly proclaims on its front wall that it is the oldest pub in Beverley. It dates from around 1503, apparently.

On its website, though, this claim is demoted somewhat to ‘widely regarded as the oldest pub in Beverley’, so there is clearly some debate on the subject.

The most likely challenger to the crown – Nellies – freely admits to being ‘probably’ the second oldest, which is very magnanimous considering how sketchy records can be.

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And let’s not even get started on Monk’s Walk, which makes a fanciful claim to surviving since 1270. Almost certainly not as a pub, though.

The Sun Inn in BeverleyThe Sun Inn in Beverley
The Sun Inn in Beverley

The Sun is a deceptively large pub, with a sizeable bar, a wonderfully intimate nook, a more recent extension and even a covered and heated beer garden.

Bigger pubs can sometimes seem cavernous, but the Sun somehow avoids this. It’s probably the cosiest a big pub can feel.

It’s long been a music pub, with louder gigs every weekend and more relaxed events during the week.

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The local ukulele club meet here and there’s an afternoon folk session. They even find time to sneak in an open mic night and a regular quiz.

Food varies from a range of Sunday lunches to a daytime menu of Yorkshire Tapas, featuring imaginative use of local produce at very fair prices. These include patties with mint mayo, a delight of the very highest order.

Sadly, the pub doesn’t have a car park and parking places are scant on nearby streets. So a yomp to the front door is inevitable from whichever direction you approach.

Oldest pub or not, one claim the Sun can inarguably make is closest pub to the Minster. It’s oak-beams are located just a few feet across the road from the East Transept.

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So close, in fact, that the loudness of the bands at the weekend makes you wonder why St John of Beverley has never left his crypt before now to hammer on the pub door and demand the racket be kept down.

Welcome 4/5

Atmosphere 4/5

Drinks choice 4/5

Prices 4/5

The Sun Inn, Flemingate, Beverley, HU17 0NP

www.suninnbeverley.co.uk

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