The Full Entry
The Hereward Pub
Published Thursday, May 12th, 2005 by Karl Bedingfield
Ely’s newsest pub is to be called ‘The Hereward’ (formerly tagged as ‘The Barracuda Pub’). The pub in Market Street is owned by the Barracuda pub chain under their ‘Smith and Jones Pub’ brand.
The name was chosen after the Ely Standard ran a competition in conjunction with the Barracuda pub chain. For those not familiar with the legend of ‘Hereward’ can find out more about his local links here.
Names such as ‘The Cromwellian’ and ‘The Slippery Eel’ (actually I like that one!) spring to mind. Have you any suggestions on what the pub should have been called? Let Ely Online know by leaving a comment.
The pub opens in a couple of weeks.
34 Comments so far (Leave a comment)
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At 9:59 pm on May 12th, 2005, Martin wrote:
‘No caps’ it proudly states on the front of the pub. What does this mean? Did Hereward’s brave men put all cap wearers to the sword? Were the Norman’s cap-crazed? We need to know!
At 10:26 pm on May 12th, 2005, Karl Bedingfield wrote:
Ah the ‘No Caps’ rule – it’s all to do with Big Brother CCTV I think (harder to identify the drug pushers). No mention of ‘hoodies’ though and it certainly rules out any American guys getting in the pub
Please don’t get me started on the vilification of the ‘hoodie’ and the people who wear them.
At 9:11 am on May 13th, 2005, John Glover wrote:
When I first began to post on the net, I naively thought it WAS OK TO WRITE LIKE THIS. And then a fellow poster sent me an email saying, ‘Lose the caps’. Maybe ‘No Caps’ is a proud claim that they will serve ‘burger and chips’ not ‘BURGER AND CHIPS’.
There was a debate about Hoodies on Question Time that had Boris Johnson shaking his head in dismay. Maybe they should have a ‘No Fringes’ rule? Never trust a man with a fringe.
At 6:33 pm on May 15th, 2005, Jo wrote:
The hoodies ban is just so extreme – I mean hoodies are pretty much obligatory in windy Ely. What’s the problem?
At 5:02 pm on May 18th, 2005, Mary McGuire wrote:
Maybe they should have just painted a horoscopic squiggly thing on the front and called it “the pub formerly known as Cutlacks”.
At 2:54 pm on June 1st, 2005, Tracy Pearce wrote:
I have just visited this pub for food and was disappionted in the result. Yes the menu is great, but that’s if it’s available and if you can afford to wait over an hour to get it!
I witnessed the same gentleman try to order 3 different meals with no luck. My friends and I then placed our orders, all the food was available but we were not informed of the 45-60 minute wait and as the average lunchhour is only 50-60 minutes long that’s just not good enough.
The staff were very apologetic, and explained that it was very busy, I wish this had been the case! Not only was it quiet for a lunchtime, but there were 3 chefs in the kitchen! As I have worked in this sector for many years I know “waffle” when I hear it. I’m afraid that as a pub it is lovely but waiting over an hour for a salad is just not good enough! If they wish to keep and encourage customers through the door for food they will need to address this problem immediately!
At 7:59 pm on December 19th, 2005, Michelle wrote:
I have visited this pub on many occasions and enjoyed a meal and drinks in a nice enviroment! I was soooooo disappointed when myself and friends went to have a meal on sunday 11th december, we ordered our meal, which took at least 45mins to appear, as I took a bite out of my steak I noticed it smelt funny! It didnt even taste like steak and it smelt of ‘fish’! I told the waitress about this and she came back from the kitchen and said that it was deff steak (I was unsure if it was or not) needless to say i didnt eat any of my meal, when the waiter came to clear the table he asked if everything was ok, I told him the problem and he wasnt interested either!! At no stage was I offered my money back or a replacement meal!!!! I was going to take it home for my dogs but thought again!!! I hope no body else experiences the same poor quality of food and service that we did on this occasion!!
At 12:24 pm on March 9th, 2006, Dee Walker wrote:
This establishment’s CCTV set-up is just ridiculous. A pub that treats every single customer as a criminal suspect doesn’t deserve to have customers.
At 6:16 pm on March 9th, 2006, Dr Pete Kaiser wrote:
I just read on the BBC website about the hat ban and an 82 year old woman being asked to remove her hat, which didn’t obscure her face in ANY way. Apparently Pub licensee Tony Love said it was pub policy to always ask people to remove their hats.
“It’s all to do with the CCTV. We have 13 cameras inside the people and we cannot be seen to be discriminating between the youths and the elderly people.”
Once again, political correctness gone mad!!! 82-year-old female members of the WI do not cause trouble in pubs. Young people do. Differentiating between the two age groups on the grounds that one is more likely to cause crime than the other is not discrimination, it is simple common sense!!!
If you live in Ely, do the rest of the country a favour – boycott the pub until they change their policy!
At 7:03 pm on March 9th, 2006, John Latchford wrote:
Amazing that a Landlord can be so dim as to require an 80+ year old woman to remove her hat as a security risk – the world is notchanging, bar staff are just insensitive and money grubbing, if they didn’t serve drubks there would be very little problems in pubs, the problems that require 13 CCTV cameras are entirely of their own making
At 7:21 pm on March 9th, 2006, Welsh Windbag wrote:
I’ve just been listening to the pensioner who was asked to take off her hat in the pub. What scares me is that this pub clearly has no interest in preventing real troublemakers getting in – just looking at CCTV pictures of the locking of a door to an empty stable.
At 9:34 pm on March 9th, 2006, Edward wrote:
The Hereward may be a hatless pub, maybe it’s aiming to be a customerless pub.
At 9:49 pm on March 9th, 2006, Alan Tench wrote:
The comments from the landlord about how the world is changing and how they don’t want to discriminate between young and old demonstrates singular stupidity on his part. Yes, boycott the pub, and the chain of which it is a part. I hope the whole lot go out of business – soon. CCTV, or spy cameras as they are more properly called, are an evil in our midst.
At 10:19 pm on March 9th, 2006, Fred Dean wrote:
The “security” arrangements here are both intrusive and offensive. The licensee of this establishment, a Mr. Tony Love, clearly has no idea that the world is changing. For the better. That’s why all the good local people with healthy disposeable incomes will be avoiding this place and finding a public house that’s a little less paranoid and a little more interested in serving the public.
At 10:59 pm on March 9th, 2006, Dave Richards wrote:
Tony Love, the licensee, said,”Mrs Wilbraham does not understand that the world is changing”.
What a complete twat.
At 11:39 pm on March 9th, 2006, Mike Bossingham wrote:
What a stupid policy! Anyone with a degree of common sense can see that an elderly lady in a hat is not a hoodie and likely to cause trouble.
How daft can you get.
Boycott the pub until they change this daft policy
At 2:56 am on March 10th, 2006, Mark Griffiths wrote:
‘Have you any suggestions on what the pub should have been called?’
In recognition of the attitude that prevails in that pub, and bearing in mind that Mrs Wilbraham’s generation saw off Hitler in the 1940s I would suggest ‘THE LITTLE HITLER’. I’m sure Mrs Wilbraham can recognise a smaller (and dumbed down version) when she sees it.
At 5:01 am on March 10th, 2006, Mr. Krieger wrote:
Possibly the publican could ask the 82 yr old school marm for suggestions on controlling the problems in the pub. After 40 to 50 years of teaching the unwashed, unwilling and unruly, the lady may stay and shape up the bouncers into an effective group able to prevent problems rather than pick up after them.
Any good retired teacher should be able to strike fear into the hearts of a few boisterous malcontents.
Having real problems? Hire one or two retired Mother Superiors from the ranks of the teaching nuns.
At 8:37 am on March 10th, 2006, Royston, Hertfordshire wrote:
I don’t expect Tony Love is a real person at all. Surely he must be one of those robots engineered in back rooms by corporate companies and described as managers, out of whom all vestige of humour, intelligence or common sense has been scrupulously removed. The 82-year-old WI lady comes out of this sorry affair looking like a shining beacon of sanity and Mr Love attains the status of a maggot (or is that being unkind to maggots?).
I am rarely in Ely but in case I ever am, thanks for the warnings about this place. It sounds like the kind of hellhole to avoid like the plague!
At 9:05 am on March 10th, 2006, Bob wrote:
Words cannot describe what an absolute cock landlord tony love must be.
I have just read his comment in the metro about 82 year old pensioner Betty Wilbraham wearing her hat in his pub while popping in to enjoy a sandwich one lunchtime. she was asked to remove her hat by a member of over zealous staff as it was ‘a hatless pub’ so as to make it easier to identify troublemakers on the CCTV system. Instead of recognising his staff had no or little common sense he backed them up by saying ‘Mrs Wilbraham does not understand the world is changing.’ Obviously changing for the worst in the Hereward, Ely, into a world where fools prevail.
What an absolute twat, I only hope for his sake that this isn’t printed in the local paper where no doubt he will be a figure of public ridicule. one wonders what he thought the 82 year old might get up to? Throw her sandwich at the moronic bar staff would have been advisable.
At 12:49 pm on March 10th, 2006, John Glover wrote:
“Possibly the publican could ask the 82 yr old school marm for suggestions on controlling the problems in the pub.”
Whilst not wanting to get involved in the Hat Row I’d just like to make this point (speaking as a local). I’ve been in the pub at 11:00am for coffee with my wife, Sunday afternoons to watch football and on an extremely busy Friday evening for a few beers with some mates. The staff are friendly and I’ve never seen or heard of any trouble in the pub. Misguided or not the Hat Rule & the previously mentioned Under 18 rule are there to prevent trouble.
I shall, as always, be wearing my deerstalker when I’m next in there.
At 4:00 pm on March 10th, 2006, Valerie wrote:
This is completely ridiculous! The pub needs to be given a wide berth.
At 7:17 pm on March 10th, 2006, Pete wrote:
Please tell me you really didn’t tell the elderly lady to take her hat off and that this story is one of those crazy journalistic lies!!
At 7:28 pm on March 10th, 2006, Pete wrote:
Oh my God, it was true – this country has finally gone to the dogs!!! So pleased that many licenced premises are going out of business, what do you expect if you treated like this!
At 8:02 pm on March 10th, 2006, John wrote:
Fire Tony Love. We don’t need people like him in our town.
I suggest we all email Barracuda.
At 4:22 am on March 11th, 2006, George Taylor wrote:
The Hereward pub is now a laughing stock here in Australia. I ask Tony Love what his staff will do if a elderley Muslim lady walks in wearing a Burkah.
At 11:04 am on March 11th, 2006, Trevor wrote:
Barracuda were bought out by Charterhouse Capital Partners last year.
You can email Charterhouse at http://www.charterhouse.co.uk
I told them the problems with the pub and asked them for a new manager.
At 2:10 pm on March 11th, 2006, Cyclops_dan wrote:
The Hat Rule is an attempt to prevent people bringing ecstacy tablets onto the premises, hidden in the sweat band and seams. Tony Love wouldn’t want to have drugs associated with his business so he wouldn’t mention it in the interview. I find it hard to believe that an 82 year old retired school mistress would get much business at lunchtime in a family pub even if she was a well known drug dealer. The ‘rave’ clientel would probably still be in bed recovering from the previous nights exploits! Mr. Love needs to exercise some common sense.
At 9:15 pm on June 14th, 2006, Andy wrote:
Hello,
In reply to the comments made above, I work as a door supervisor in the hereward. The reason why like so many venues I have worked at we have a no hat policy is that we have so many problems with trouble makers. People have said to me in the past ‘how come they can wear there hat and I cant’? So it makes our job alot easier saying no hats at all. I work there often and have had very minor trouble. we also have pubwatch in place to identify known trouble makers, we always try to make your visit a safe and enjoyable one.
At 9:19 pm on August 31st, 2006, Alan Tench wrote:
Andy, get real! Any pub that needs a so called “door supervisor” is a pub to to be avoided like the plague.
So it makes your job easier does it – this no hats policy? Well that’s OK then. If it makes your job easier it doesn’t matter how bloody stupid the rule is – is that the attitude? Has the place not gone out of business yet? I sincerely hope it has.
At 11:34 pm on July 2nd, 2008, Vikki wrote:
Having just went in the pub this evening i am very impressed with the staff and venue itself. It is a fantastic place to visit. The staff are friendly and very keen on having a basic chat. The drinks were wonderful, and as for a busy Wednesday evening they did brilliantly. In regards to the comments above. Maybe things have changed in the last few years but as someone that has worked in the pub trade, although an elderly women may not be seen as a threat to the company or venue it is still against human rights to discriminate against any segment of the population and therefore a policy held within the venue or the company as a whole should be implemented in all situations.
At 7:27 pm on July 3rd, 2008, Digby wrote:
@Vikki:
Unless you’re a lawyer, you should refrain from fatuous remarks about the Human Rights Act 1998.
What about the elderly lady’s human rights to be treated with dignity.
At 1:30 pm on August 12th, 2010, kerry wrote:
I used to visit this pub regularly! the management/owners are so so rude.
Its a wonder they still get customers!
At 1:44 pm on December 31st, 2011, ann wrote:
visited ely 27th december had lunch at pub which was lovely returned on night time and staff and management were really pleasant and friendly will recommend to my friends