The Bate Hall has a long history having been built in 1525 and served as a coaching house. There are several reminders of its past in and behind the building, such as a priest hole that sheltered itinerant Catholic priests after the Reformation, medieval walls and a magnificent Jacobean staircase behind the bar. The pub has had its ups and downs in recent years but is now in the hands of a very pleasant young couple who have set strict standards and made the Bate a very welcoming place – and the mannequin monk has been restored to its rightful place on the staircase.
Rosie the mascot was with us but Bob was still absent and Ken stepped in to fill the gap. The Bate Taverners are old friends that we have followed from the Cricket Club and The Plough – it is a pity the Plough has closed as it was always a very friendly pub with generous refreshments. The questions were wide-ranging covering science, fine art, history and much else and question masters were Shauna and Pete from the Park Tavern who controlled the game with a light touch.
The opening rounds were fairly close swinging from one team to the other (home team first 19/17, 18/11, 16/19) with the Bate six points ahead with 53 to 47 at half-time; things then picked up in the second half (17/10, 13/12 and 20/11) giving the home team victory by more than 20 points!!
The evening ended with chip butties – many thanks to the Bate’s new couple, to Shauna and Pete and of course the Bate Taverners for a most enjoyable evening.
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