The Bridge Inn (also known locally as the Pink Pub) is a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

at Bridge Hill, Topsham in the county of

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Mentioned as a dwelling in

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

, the building was largely constructed in the 18th century of cob and stone, with a 19th-century brick addition.

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

visited the inn on 27 March 1998, her first official visit to a pub.

History

There have been people living at the site of Bridge Inn since at least 1086, as the dwelling was mentioned in

. Parts of the present building date from the late 16th century, although the majority was built in the 18th century. It is built of cob with stone, although a later 19th-century addition is built of brick. The roof is slate throughout. Inside, there are three public rooms, one of which used to contain a brewery on-site. The interior includes many of the original 19th-century fixtures and fittings. It was designated Grade II listed status on 11 November 1952. The interior has been registered on the

Campaign for Real Ale The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. History The organisation was founded on 16 ...

National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors The National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors was a register of public houses in the United Kingdom with interiors which had been noted as being of significant historic interest, having remained largely unchanged for at least 30 years, but us ...

. Inside, lager is only served in bottles, regular drinkers leave

post-it A Post-it note (or sticky note) is a small piece of paper with a re-adherable strip of glue on its back, made for temporarily attaching notes to documents and other surfaces. A low-adhesion, tack pressure-sensitive adhesive allows the notes to ...

notes on their favourite barrels of beer to be called when opened, and the pub will serve drinks by the third of a pint to allow for a wider variety of tasting. The Bridge Inn has been a public house since at least 1797, when it included two dwellings, a

quay A wharf ( or wharfs), quay ( , also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more Berth (mo ...

and a salt refinery. The inn attracted wrestling competitions during the 19th century, and by 1900 there were cattle sales at the site. In 1998, Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

visited the Bridge Inn for its 101st anniversary. There she was presented with a crate of commemorative ale, which she remarked that her husband,

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

, would enjoy. In 2008, for the pub's 111th anniversary, the same commemorative ale was brewed for a third time at Branscombe Vale Brewery, with a crate graciously received by

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

. Coincidentally, at the same time, an invitation was sent to the pub for attendance at an event at the palace. The Queen remarked that she "couldn’t believe 10 years had passed since her visit." As of 2014, the inn has remained in the hands of the same family for more than a century, and is now available as a wedding venue.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridge Inn, Topsham Grade II listed pubs in Devon National Inventory Pubs Buildings and structures in Exeter