Very popular country pub, a long whitewashed building that was once three businesses with the original pub extending into the adjoining blacksmiths and carpenters shop, hence the name. Inside there are several connecting tastefully decorated rooms. Among the most interesting items are the apprentice bellows from the former smithy hanging from the ceiling of the 'Smithy Bar'. Some of the bar fittings, in a combination of wood and iron, were retrieved from an old Bristol chapel. Note also the chamber pot collection. As with many very old buildings there is a ghostly tale to tell. This of a time in the 1980s when crashing noises were heard in the cellar, objects were seen flying around the bar and the ghostly presence of a young woman detected. These events were attributed to the crime of a former landlord who had murdered his daughter and had walled up her body in the snug. Talking of bodies, one table in the room immediately to the right of the entrance was used to lay out bodies, although not recently! If seeking a bite to eat, several blackboards near the entrance announce the appetising menu. The reduced beer range sees London Pride usually accompanied by Marston's Pedigree which is sometimes changed for Wychwood Hobgoblin. There might also be a pin of cider on the bar.
Historic Interest
About 400 years old, it is not listed but features in Real Heritage Pubs of Wales.
One star - A pub interior of special national historic interest
Listed status: Not listed
The Carpenters Arms probably has more small rooms that any other Welsh pub. The stone building was originally a bar and carpenter’s shop, later a blacksmith’s. The original bar was the flagstone-floored room just inside the main door with its huge settle held in place by an iron stay fixed to the ceiling, creating a passage into the pub. The bar counter was added in the 1960s replacing the original service hatch. The rear 'Smithy Bar' was formed from the blacksmiths shop in the 1960s and has a counter converted from church furniture, a flagstone floor and a Victorian-style fireplace. To the right of the original bar, the former cellar at a lower level has been made into another small bar. The room to the far right has come into pub use in recent years. Two rooms to the left of the front door were, and still look like, domestic rooms - the far one has a 1920s Tudor stone fireplace. A wonderful pub with the only downside being the amount of 1960s Artex on the walls!
The Carpenters Arms has probably more small rooms that any other pub in Wales. This stone building was originally a bar and carpenter’s shop, later a blacksmith’s. The original bar was the flagstone-floored room just inside the main door with its huge settle held in place by an iron stay fixed to the ceiling, and which creates a passage into the pub. The bar counter was added in the 1960s replacing the original service hatch. The rear 'Smithy Bar' was created out of a blacksmiths shop in the 1960s and has a counter formed of church furniture, a flagstone floor and a Victorian-style fireplace. To the right of the original bar the former cellar at a lower level has been made into another small bar. The room to the far right has been brought into pub use in recent years. Two rooms to the left of the front door were, and still do look like, domestic rooms - the far one has a 1920s Tudor stone fireplace. A wonderful pub with the only downside being the amount of 1960s Artex on the walls!
This Pub serves 1 changing beer and 1 regular beer.
Carpenters Arms, Shirenewton
Changing beers typically include: Marston's - Pedigree , Wychwood - Hobgoblin Ruby
Source: National
A Celebration Of Welsh Pub Heritage Real Heritage Pubs of Wales is a guide to a remarkable and varied collection of pubs with the best and most interesting interiors in the whole of Wales. It is CAMRA’s pioneering initiative to...