Birch Hall Inn is a public house founded in 1860 in Beck Hole, near to Goathland in North Yorkshire, England.[1] It is noted for its historic interior, which has resulted in its listing in the Campaign for Real Ale's "National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors",[2][3] and for its particularly picturesque setting. The inn is also noted for its connection with the artist Algernon Newton[4] R.A. (1880–1968) who painted an inn sign which is still displayed on the front wall of the building.
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The pub was founded in 1860 from two small cottages dating back to the 17th century.
Entrances to a tiny bar and shop face the road outside, with a further room being accessed down a passageway, with its own serving hatch. A Formica topped table with embedded old pennies and a couple of bench seats can be found in the small bar area, with seating for perhaps half a dozen. The landlady claims that the record number of people, inside and with the door shut, stands at 27 - and a dog!.[5]. This record was smashed twice in a short space of time, first on May 16th 2010, when 30 customers, and the plastic dog from the previous record, managed to squeeze in, with the door shut. Then, on June 25th 2010, a further thirty strong crowd managed to go one better, by adding two small dogs to the grand total [6]. The beer garden was, for many years, up a set of stone steps to the side of the premises, but this has now been replaced with a new garden at the side of the beck itself. The entrance to which is through the passageway between the cottage and the large room.
The inn was voted CAMRA Pub of the Season in the Summer of 2006.[7] Additionally, landlady Glenys Crampton was awarded with the local CAMRA Pub of the Year 2006/7 award.[8] A further award was made with the CAMRA Pub of the Season, Summer 2009.[9] Keep up this record, the pub was awarded the Pub of the Season for Summer 2010 and then Pub of the year 2010 by Cleveland CAMRA [10].
The house ale, "Beckwatter", is brewed by the North Yorkshire Brewing Company. Food includes the 'Beck Hole Buttie', a light wholemeal flatcake or stottie filled with home roast ham, cheese, corned beef or pate, and Beck Hole's own beer cake.
