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Historic Bantham

The Sloop is a 14th Century pub steeped in history.

This area has been a busy little port over the years, hosting more than its fair share of stories, shipwrecks, pirate activity and smuggling.

Pictures here in the pub show the wealth of activity in the local community. Not only do we have some of the finest land and seascape on our doorstep, but with Jenkins Quay (put picture on web-site), the ancient thatched boathouse, we also have one of the most photographed scenes in Dev-on too.

 

Here a shot from 1900 shows Jack Sherriff, the Bantham baker, smiling by he doorway to his shop. Behind you can see The Sloop. This is the period when locals said you could tell where a man came from by his trousers. A man with a patch on his trousers came from Bantham. Thurlestone men had no patches. The explanation was simple: The Sloop Inn at Bantham boasted wooden benches for its customers. The Village Inn at Thurlestone had no benches at all!

 

Ask at the bar for more local history - we're more than happy to share some tales…