INNINTHEFAMILY…

1 February 2002

INNINTHEFAMILY…

The tiny Boat Inn has as

much character as you are

ever likely to find in one

hostelry – and some very

good real ales, too.

Tessa Gates met the

landlady, Jacquie Nichols,

whose family has owned

the inn for centuries

THERE is nothing in the Gloucestershire village of Ashleworth to indicate there is an inn on the quay. Down a lane, tucked away behind a huge tithe barn undergoing restoration, it comes as a real surprise, one that finders want to keep secret – a special pub run in a special way – where customers become friends and regulars are drawn from far and wide.

Like many old inns, it is not there by chance. It started because it was a good place to cross the River Severn to get to Sandhurst. "Someone from the family was said to have ferried King Charles II across the river and so the Jelfs were granted the ferry rights," explains licensee Jacquie Nichols.

"The Jelfs are my mothers side of the family and we can trace family ownership of the inn back to 1730.

&#42 Inherited

"My granddad inherited it from his uncle in 1903. At that time there was a chain ferry but that was swept away in a flooded river during World War One and after that it was a punt. It was used to ferry staff from a big house at Sandhurst and by workers with bikes who were heading for Gloucester."

Floods are something the family has often contended with. The inn has been flooded twice in the past year, while in 1947 they were so bad Jacquies grandmother had to be rescued from an upstairs bedroom by boat and her granddad had to row to his barn each day to feed the chickens that had taken refuge on the rafters.

Jacquies father, now retired, farmed in Much Marcle, Glos, but the inn has been a big part of her life since infancy.

"My first memory is of coming here as a two year old. The floods were on and gran was upstairs cooking on a open fire – it was so exciting that I wouldnt go home." She made such a fuss that her parents let her stay overnight and it was the first of many wonderful holidays at the pub, with lots of attention from her unmarried aunts Rene and Syb.

&#42 Post rounds

"Auntie Rene was the local post lady and I used to go on her rounds with her. She and granddad also used to do the elving – catching the baby eels.

"He was left the inn on the condition that he didnt alter it, so he also subsidised his income with salmon fishing. He used to wrap the salmon in reeds before they were sent to market in boxes."

Jacquies grandad died in 1966, but her aunts continued to run the pub and Jacquie helped out whenever she could.

When she started work at 17 she moved in with them because it was easier for her to commute to her job in a bank from there rather than Much Marcle.

Following Sybs death, Rene suggested Jacquie become the landlady of the Boat and this she did in December 1991.

"I love the place. Rene and I always put money back into it and took very little out – this allowed us to keep it the same," says Jacquie who has continued the practice since Renes death.

"Aunty Rene had always served real ales and one of her old customers gave me advice on what to stock, word got round the cycling fraternity and a lot of them call here. I try the beers but I dont drink except when on holiday – the customers laugh when they see me with a mug of coffee behind the bar."

The bar is in a narrow room with an original old black leaded cooking range. The walls are adorned with great old photographs of the pub surrounds and family – including a rather glamorous Aunty Rene elving. The ales of the day are chalked up on a blackboard. These come from small breweries and include such delights as Old Ma Weasel, Town Crier and Pitchfork.

&#42 Celebrations

"I am very aware of what customers like so if someone has a birthday or celebration I will try to get in a special beer for them," says Jacquie. "At this time of year when it is quiet and we close on Monday and Wednesday lunch time, I buy it in pins – 36 pint barrels – so I can sell good beer in winter. I take the larger firkins in the busier season."

Extra seating space is in another little room – where poems written by the regular who advised Jacquie about beer, the late Ron Smith, are on display. There is no restaurant – filled baps are the only food served year round – in summer an outdoor bar serves coffee and cakes.

The pub has won CAMRA awards and was Good Pub Guide Unspoilt Pub of the Year (1996) and Gloucester-shire Pub of the Year (1999). "Customers put us in for them and had the plaques done for us to go with the certificates we won," says Jacquie. "Its nice when they enjoy all the beers and customers become like friends.

&#42 Beer festival

"Once a year – on the first Saturday in September – we have a beer festival for charity. Customers take turns to man the bar and we have 26 firkins outside. Everyone enjoys it and we raised over £2000 last year for equipment for a therapy unit in Cheltenham."

Jacquie and her husband Ron have two daughters – the girls have good careers but perhaps the pull of the pub will draw their interest in the future. In the meantime Jacquie intends to go on in much the same way as her aunts and Grandfather did.

"We dont intend to change so we wont make a lot of money but we will make a living," she says. And she seems very content with that.

it and took very little out – this allowed us to keep it the same," says Jacquie, who has continued the practice since Renes death.

"Aunty Rene had always served real ales and one of her old customers gave me advice on what to stock, word got round the cycling fraternity and a lot of them call here. I try the beers but I dont drink except when on holiday – the customers laugh when they see me with a mug of coffee behind the bar."

The bar is in a narrow room with an original old black leaded cooking range. The walls are adorned with old photographs of the pub surrounds and family – including a rather glamorous Aunty Rene elving – catching elvers.

The ales of the day are chalked up on a blackboard. These come from small breweries and include such delights as Old Ma Weasel, Town Crier and Pitchfork.

&#42 Celebrations

"I am very aware of what customers like, so if someone has a birthday or celebration I will try to get in a special beer for them," says Jacquie. "At this time of year when it is quiet and we close on Monday and Wednesday lunch time, I buy it in pins – 36-pint barrels – so I can sell good beer in winter. I take the larger firkins in the busier season."

Extra seating space is in another little room, where poems written by the regular who advised Jacquie about beer, the late Ron Smith, are on display. There is no restaurant – filled baps are the only food served year round – in summer an outdoor bar serves coffee and cakes.

The pub has won CAMRA awards and was Good Pub Guide Unspoilt Pub of the Year (1996) and Gloucester-shire Pub of the Year (1999). "Customers put us in for them and had the plaques done for us to go with the certificates we won," says Jacquie. "Its nice when they enjoy all the beers and customers become like friends.

&#42 Beer festival

"Once a year – on the first Saturday in September – we have a beer festival for charity. Customers take turns to man the bar and we have 26 firkins outside. Everyone enjoys it and we raised over £2000 last year for equipment for a therapy unit in Cheltenham."

Jacquie and her husband Ron have two daughters – the girls have good careers but perhaps the pull of the pub will draw their interest in the future. In the meantime, Jacquie intends to go on in much the same way as her aunts and grandfather did.

"We dont intend to change so we wont make a lot of money but we will make a living," she says. And she seems very content with that.

The black-leaded range was once the main cooking facility at the Boat Inn. The pub remains much the same as it was in 1903.

Jacquie serves beers from small breweries at the unspoilt Boat Inn where the homely atmosphere draws customers from near and far.