A former cyclists ‘mecca’, The Anchor, with many historical links to cycling, has now been renovated and is open for business. With many original features having been uncovered, along with a sympathetic but thorough restoration, the resulting pub is fresher and brighter. It is destined to become a popular venue for cyclists once again.
History
With parts dating back as far as the early 16th Century, when it was built originally as an almshouse, The Anchor was used as such until the 1730s, around the time that the Poor House was built in the village. The building was sold to the owner of the next-door ‘messuage’ (or dwelling with outbuildings) that already had the name of The Anchor, and the building as it is now will have been established soon after.
The popularity of the newly introduced bicycle started to grow in the late 1870s and Ripley became a ‘mecca’ for all good cyclists. Indeed, for many years cyclists referred to the London to Portsmouth road as the ‘Ripley Road’. Such was the popularity that it is reported that on Whit Sunday 1894 the police estimated that 20,000 cyclists passed through Kingston on their way to Ripley.
By 1881 The Anchor had become the favoured port of call for cyclists; the warm and friendly hospitality offered by the then landlady Harriet Dibble was legendary and several hundred cyclists called there most weekends. Such were the numbers arriving on Sundays that the vicar of Ripley organised special church services for them.
Today
Local restaurateurs Steve and Serina Drake are behind the venture, with additional private investment from local friends and neighbours Chris and Lisanne Mealing. Steve and Serina’s eponymous restaurant Drake’s has a Michelin star and is rapidly rising up the ‘foodie league tables’ and The Anchor’s head chef is Michael Wall-Palmer, who was behind the stove in Drake’s for some years.
The Anchor’s ethos is that of a relaxed, family-oriented village pub serving “simple, but creative pub food, with great ales and interesting wines, all at very affordable prices.”
A concise, simple yet interesting menu is served all day. Snacks available at just £4.50 a portion include Pork Crackling – Baked Apple Sauce; Fish Fingers – Pollock Croquettes and Seaweed Mayonnaise; and Welsh Rarebit.