Beating heart of an ancient village
FIVE pubs once served the lucky residents of Edington, a historic village tucked away just below Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. Today there is just one, but what a glorious place it is.
Opened as the Paulet Arms in 1750, there were fears it too had closed for good in 2009, but like a modern-day fairy tale, a rich American rode to the rescue.
Chad Pike, originally from Ohio and vice-chairman of a New Yorkbased investment firm, already owned a nearby farm (and a swish ski chalet in Colorado). After snapping up the empty pub, he and his team got busy, including renaming it The Three Daggers.
Over the past decade they have added three immaculate bedrooms with expensive finishes and a clever mix of modern and traditional. There are exposed beams, neutral colours and the occasional sheepskin rug to make everywhere feel cosy.
Each room has a well-designed bathroom, with Neal’s Yard products and fluffy robes.
The largest room, Coulston, has a clawfoot bath where you can soak after a long walk on Salisbury Plain.
Each room has use of a shared lounge and a pantry stocked with fresh bread, jam, teas, coffee, chessboards and Scrabble.
Pike has also opened a modern British restaurant and converted a six-bedroom cottage opposite the pub into a holiday home.
Oh yes, he’s also introduced a microbrewery, a farm shop and cafe. There’s even a hot tub and sauna in a secluded spot of the grounds.
While this may sound a bit OTT for an ancient English village, it works. There’s now a buzzing atmosphere and a new community hub for Edington.
During our visit, locals were in the bar watching a Six Nations rugby match. Farmers drank pints of Three Daggers ale, while families with dogs happily shared gossip and bottles of wine in cleverly designed wooden booths. All was banter and bonhomie. It comes as little surprise to learn that The Three Daggers was recently named the AA Pub of the Year for England.
The USP: This is not just a pub, it’s the new heart of the village. You can peek at the ale vats through a window at the farm shop or pop into Edington Priory Church, where poet George Herbert was married.
The rooms: Only three in the inn, so every stay feels special.
The food: Juicy sardines with a pleasingly sharp fennel and spring onion salad, plus a tasty beetroot salad with candied walnuts sparked up my tastebuds nicely.
The haunch of venison (shot by head chef James Graham) with celeriac, red cabbage and cassis sauce was perfectly cooked. Three courses cost from about £32.