It used to be a traditional, old-style free house with several individual bars but it is now a much larger, open plan affair with half a dozen TV screens showing sport with an attached outdoor space; thankfully, it’s still a free house.
The second I stepped up to the bar rain of biblical proportions cascaded from the black clouds overhead and I rethought my plan to sit under the sail contraption outside.
Having beaten the weather, I was feeling lucky, and just a tad adventurous, so, given there wasn’t any real ale on draught, I decided to sample a Lucky Buddha, which claims to be an enlightened beer.
All I know is rice is involved in its production, the barman rates it and it’s a fresh, reasonably crisp lager which cost me £6.
Not wanting to be washed away outside, I took a seat at the bar but there were already three guys dominating this area competing to explain how well they understood the needs of their other halves and, like my lager, are enlightened. When the chat developed to their individual prowess between the sheets, I chose to change seats.
On the other side of the bar, there’s not just one, but two, pool tables. At one table, a female student was being coached and enlightened about cue control by her fella.
Before I’d had a chance to pick up any pool tips, we were joined by another pair of drowned rats, one of whom I recognised from behind the bar in the Penny Theatre.
I assume the Carpenters Arms would now describe itself as a sports bar, three screens were showing golf and three darts, although there was also a box on the bar containing a variety of board games. I didn’t spot a dartboard but there can’t be many Canterbury pubs giving space to two pool tables.
I know places have to change but I couldn’t help feeling a little sorry the old pub I remember has gone forever, to be replaced by a bar which feels the need to install a chandelier made from wine glasses, a graffitied Mona Lisa poster and a giraffe with a lamp shade on its head.
On the subject of introducing unnecessarily trendy paraphernalia, the toilets have seen the introduction of a pair of old beer kegs as urinals – they might look interesting but wherever I’ve encountered them, there’s always been pools of urine on the floor. The sinks, which are equally industrial, are similarly impractical and inefficient with loose taps.
When I returned to the bar I was tempted by a Leffe. It’s good to see this Belgian beer on draught somewhere other than a Spoons, but in the end I chose a lower ABV and opted for a Grand Central IPA from Hydes Brewery in Salford.
I can understand the appeal of the Carpenters Arms, complete with its wide-angle fruit machine, old-style jukebox and blackboard on the bar advertising cocktails, but I couldn’t help spending some moments fondly remembering the Canterbury pubs I knew so well as a student but are now long gone.
Perhaps I just need to be more realistic, accept the need for metal pineapples and a monkey statue on the bar, and just be grateful the Carpenters Arms has managed to adapt and survive.
Even on a Monday evening by 8pm there were plenty of students, and others, starting to flow in and clearly they’ve been drawn in to enjoy all this repurposed old city pub has to offer.
The barman had taken advantage of a quiet moment to sneak out for a quick vaping session and the driving rain had finally relented, so I set off to negotiate the flooded streets surrounding the pub.
Walking away, I decided on balance it’s probably a good thing that the Carpenters now offers four Jagerbombs for £14 and enough screens for sports lovers to get a view from anywhere in the pub.
THE CARPENTERS ARMS, 102 BLACK GRIFFIN LANE, CANTERBURY CT1 2DE
Décor: Compared to some Canterbury pubs this one doesn’t have huge history but whatever it did have has long since been replaced by sports bar paraphernalia, but it’s comfortable and well maintained – apart from the industrial loo attachments. ***
Drink: There’s no real ale on draught as there’s no real call for it here but the alternatives are interesting and plentiful. The Lucky Buddha was fresh and the Grand Central IPA very tasty for 4.2%. And, if I’d had a third, I could have chosen Leffe. ****
Price: The Enlightened Asian lager was £6 a pint, with the IPA from Hydes Brewery costing a further 20p at £6.20. I didn’t get the price for Leffe. **
Staff: Efficient and welcoming, the barman still found time to perch on the bar and join in with the customers’ ‘other halves’ conversation. ***
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