About Us
How The Cricket Inn got its name
When it comes to how The Cricket Inn in Beesands got its name, there are many tales from days gone by; from the noise made by the insects to the sport being played on the beach when the tide went out.
Well, we can finally dispel the rumours. In 1857 No. 9 Beesands (as it was then known) was bought at an auction by Philip Prettejohn who was born in Beesands in 1838; a decade later he opened the premises under the 1830 Beerhouse Act, enabling him to brew and sell beer.
The story goes that on Saturday 3rd August 1867, opening day, Philip was enquiring as to where all the locals were (evidently, not in the pub as he had hoped!) On the day in question, a cricket match between Kingsbridge Cricket Club and the Start Bay Cricket Club was taking place on Beesands Green. When he heard that the match had gained much support, he decided to call his new pub The Cricket Inn.
Over the years, the Cricket has survived storms, a bomb in 1942, plus a mudslide that passed through the Inn from back to front. The Exeter based Heavitree Brewery bought the pub on 29th September 1928 and Nigel and Rachel took over as landlords in 2001. After a renovation in 2006 and an extension in 2010, they transformed the modest 4 bedroomed village Inn into the 7 bedroomed award-winning establishment it is today.
Fast forward to 2022 and The Cricket Inn is a thriving and popular family-run establishment, with visitors and locals alike, and has built an enviable reputation as one of the best foodie pubs in the area.
We’ve stayed true to the pub’s original identity with black and white photos of past village life proudly displayed on the walls, and even our 7 newly renovated bed and breakfast rooms are named after famous cricketers and cricket grounds.
We’re proud of our reputation for serving delicious seafood dishes and we’re strong supporters of buying our produce locally. Our shellfish has always been supplied by the Steers, originally by Winkie and now his son Alan who was handed the ropes (and the trawler) when Winkie retired in 1997. Alan never fails to supply us with amazing seafood such as trawling lobster and crab, mackerel and seabass during the summer months, all of it delivered straight to our front door.
Winkie himself is a Cricket Inn veteran as well as a great friend, and he’s one of the last remaining born and bred Beesander, you’ll even see his no phones allowed sign against his always reserved table in the corner of our bar.
Nigel sadly passed away in March 2019 and since then his son Scott and his wife Rachael have taken over as Landlord and Landlady, with Rachel still keenly involved
Sustainability:
Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do and we're strong supporters of buying all of our produce as locally as possible, not only supporting our local farmers and growers, but also ensuring our produce are fresh and are of the highest quality.
Both of our fish suppliers- S&J Fisheries and Alan Steer (a third-generation shell fisherman) provide us with fresh fish daily, ensuring it is of top quality and fresh that day. Our Head Chef uses the catches to create his daily seafood specials.
Our suppliers fish sustainably with any undersized specimens or females with eggs immediately returned to the water. For Alan who provides our shellfish, sustainability is a priority and under The Inshore Potting Agreement (IPA) he has his set area which he maintains to ensure healthy stock levels and good catches.
We follow the "Eat the seasons", ensuring produce we buy to create our dishes and specials are in season and are readily available, keeping a lower carbon footprint by not importing food and reducing the energy it takes to grow and transport the food. We already work with Devonia Water and recycling all of our water bottles (both still and sparkling) meaning they can be used time and time again.
Accessibility:
The Cricket Inn is accessible for any wheelchair users wanting to eat or drink with us as we have no steps from the road outside to get into the pub itself, we also have an accessible toilet and plenty of parking right outside the pub.
We offer a children's menu, provide highchairs wherever required and we have baby changing in the accessible toilet.
Dogs are very welcome in our bar area and the dog-friendly part of our restaurant, if you're planning on bringing a dog please book a dog-friendly table. Dog bowls are available both inside and outside, and dog treats are readily available on the bar.