Free Press, Cambridge

A visit to the Free Press is recommended to see the tiny snug, surely the smallest pub room in Cambridgeshire. The snug is formed by a partition wall with low door and measures approximately 6 ft x 5 ft. The Free Press reopened in the late 1970s after a period of closure as the area around it was redeveloped. Practically all the fittings - bar counter, bar back, dado panelling with fixed seating attached and the fireplaces are 1970s direct replacements for the original ones, including those in the snug but some original material survives including the set of handpumps which date back to the 1940s, but a photo in the pub indicates they are not in their original position.

The layout changes include the removal of a wall that created the off sales alongside the snug - go outside and you can see the door has been blocked up - however, the two original swing seats still remain attached to the partition to the snug. Other changes include the amalgamation of the small right hand bar, which is served via a hatch, with the private sitting room behind which doubles the size of the room; and the creation of an opening between the two bars - the entrance to the right hand bar is no longer used. However, the outside toilets remain, albeit there is now a covered walkway between the pub and them.