A community pub which has stood in Ramsgate for more than 185 years has been named this month in the Telegraph’s 10 greatest pub towns in England.
The West Cliff Road/Royal Road boozer, well-known for stocking local real ales and ciders and for its interesting assortment of wartime memorabilia, also scooped a place in the national paper’s Top 500 pubs in the country last year and received a shout out in Time Out just last week.
Headed up by former childcare lecturer Sandy Berwick and husband Roger – a retired head teacher – the couple are well-equipped to keep regulars and other visitors in line!
Sandy, who once ran Brambles Wildlife Park (now Wildwood Trust), quips: “They say never work with children, animals or drunks but we have done all three!”
Interestingly, the Grade II pub is run as a community, non-profit asset. Sandy and Roger do not take a salary as part of a bid to keep drink prices low – beers cost between £3.60 and £4.30 a pint.
The majority of the real ales and ciders come from local suppliers, such as Gadds, Wantsum and Northdown Brewery – keeping vital cash in the Thanet economy.
Last year the business made a small loss but Sandy hopes this year there will be a profit and that will then be shared with the team of eight loyal staff.
Sandy and Roger bought the pub around eight years ago. It has been their regular for some 30 years so when the former landlady wanted to sell after her husband passed away, the couple decided to take the plunge.
Community, Sandy says, is the heart of the Artillery Arms. Its aim is to be a hub that caters to all walks of life and provides a safe and secure place to be. It is a strategy that seems to work, evidenced by a small crowd of regulars (including one nosey but cute dog) gathered at the bar on a Tuesday lunchtime – no mean feat in times where the cost of living sees hospitality spend reducing.
The pub’s décor is also an interesting feature, World War Two memorabilia can be seen in the upper and lower bars.
Sandy jokes that “it is more like a museum” but adds that they are working to even out the displays and introduce items that tell the stories of women during wartime.
The stained glass windows depict cavalry charges at the Battle of Waterloo. Ramsgate served as a major military hub during the Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815), acting as a key port for embarking troops, including the cavalry that fought at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Sandy, 64, said: “It’s believed the windows were made by French prisoners of war held in Ramsgate. The funny thing is that because the French prisoners did the windows they depict French soldiers, not English ones.”
Mum-of-two Sandy also unearths other historical facts. In 1973 there were plans by the Ramsgate Works Committee to compulsory purchase the Artillery Arms and flatten it in a bid to widen the road. Thankfully, the plan never came to pass.
A darker tale is that of former landlord Albert Drapper who died aged just 24 in August 1934.
Sandy said: “He didn’t pay his licence fees to the council and, when he was due in court, he ran off, went to France and then got in a taxi and shot himself.”
Both stories are printed and framed to be seen amongst the pub’s collectibles.
Looking to the future, Sandy says there are no plans for drastic changes. She said: “We will keep it as it is, we’ll add to the memorabilia and keep the locals happy (that includes the four-legged ones as staff keep dog biscuits behind the bar!)”
Find the Artillery Arms on the corner of West Cliff Road, Ramsgate. Doors are open every day, noon to 11pm.
