I always believed the Victorians covered up their table legs to avoid male excitement, a sort of burqa from the calf down. Sadly, it seems to be a myth, it was just to stop the curved wood being knocked and chipped by passing feet.
A similar tale is attached to the frescoes in the beautiful dining room at The Bush, Farnham. Uncovered in 1931, they’re thought to have been painted in the late 1800s, but the Victorians, unhappy with the sight of semi-naked cherubs cavorting across the walls, later whitewashed them over. Now cleaned and restored they’re a valued part of the hotel’s decor – and certainly add to the atmosphere.
And what an atmosphere it has. Dating back to 1618 (possibly), this market town coaching inn is the sort of place foreign tourists will adore for its rich history. Thackeray mentions it in his 1857 novel ‘The Virginians’, and Oliver Cromwell himself is reckoned to have stayed there in 1648. Mind you, he is reputed to have stayed in a lot of places.
The original building has a lovely courtyard entrance from the street, sized to accommodate the regular arrivals of coaches and horses between Portsmouth and London, and until 1989 the courtyard was still paved with blocks of oak to deaden the clattering sound at night. It now has a fine fountain instead.
We park our modern metal steed in the nearby car park and pass through the gardens to the impressive ‘front’ of the building. Inside at this time of year we’re greeted by the smell of woodsmoke; open fires are everywhere, and that smell is just gorgeous and welcoming. They aren’t simply for effect either because, as the cheerful manager tells us, all the old downstairs sash windows are listed and leak like sieves, so the fires back up the central heating to keep the place cosy.
And it is cosy. The oak beams, the uneven floors, the wattle and daub walls, the stairs and the wandering corridors all combine to embrace you in a way a modern hotel never can. That said, the nature of the oldest part of the hotel means it’s not ideal for anyone with mobility problems, though there is a more modern section that has easy access.
I doubt Cromwell had a room as nice as ours. One of the Vintage rooms, it’s part of the original building and is very spacious, with a (non-working) fireplace for extra charm. The bathroom is contemporary and stylish and we have the required tea making facilities, substantial TV and powerful WiFi. Twin sash windows, also original and protected, look out over the garden and grounds, themselves remarkably large considering the hotel is right in the middle of a town.
This makes it feel like an Oxbridge college; busy city one side, calm lawns inside. The grounds actually cover three acres and were once partly wooded, and had a bowling green and tennis courts. I spy two big red Kamado Joe BBQs, making me envious for those guests eating at the tables and chairs come the summer.
It being too early to eat when we arrive, we take a stroll in the town, dodging enthusiastic traffic, and dive into The Borough Beerhouse, a Grade II listed building dating from 1674. Here they have ever-changing eighteen keg lines, six hand pumps for cask ales, and a fridge packed with cans and bottles – and no children allowed (hurrah!). It’s an amiable, cosy place, and we barely make a dent in the offering before we have to drag ourselves back across the road for dinner.
The Bar and Oak Lounge, a very pretty, very old and historic room, is almost let down by aggressively bright spotlamps, but they’re soon dimmed to a pleasant warm glow when we ask. We sit close to the fire and relax, eschewing the tempting bar snacks, before we’re into an equally ancient and charming dining room, and those naughty frescoes.
It’s a classic hotel menu, with something for everyone, so includes burgers and steaks but more creative dishes, too. A starter of salmon gravadlax with chive crème frisée salad, offers up cured salmon cut thicker than usual and all the better for it, while a chicken liver and cognac parfait with plum and apple chutney was just what the winter evening ordered.
A main of roasted seabass, olive and spring onion potato cake, with spinach and tomato cream sauce was very well done, and for the purposes of research my wife volunteered to try the sirloin steak and said it was just what she wanted, without realising that she did. Needless to say, I pinched quite a few of her chips. A shared apple and berry crumble, with a jug of thick custard, concluded a perfect wintry dinner.
Despite the town outside, the room was incomparably peaceful. Those on the street side are secondary double glazed, and the more modern garden rooms are as sound and draught proof as you’d expect, with the ground floor rooms also all having their own garden patios. They’ve really thought of everything.
After a sound breakfast that ticked all boxes we had a bit of a shop around Farnham, spoilt for choice of boutiquey places and good eateries, including a the hotel’s own fancy coffee and cake shop, which rounded the visit perfectly before leaving for London.
Those wanting to stay longer will find the hotel an ideal base for country walks, and it makes, as it always has done, a good overnight stop for travellers on their way to pick up ships. Farnborough and its airshow is nearby, as is Winchester, and the manager told me many people stay for Wimbledon week, as the nearby station offers a fast and regular service. It seems people come from far and wide to Farnham, and rightly so.
The Bush, The Borough, Farnham GU9 7NN. For more information and reservations, please visit www.farnhambush.com.
