[Editor’s note : When you’ve got a pub that was once a public convenience you can guess there’ll be some jokes to be told – and they won’t all be a flash in the pan, particularly where home brewed bitter is concerned. And Rye’s very latest beer has a name to enjoy. So read on]
From 1620 it was a horse powered pump house for around 300 years and by 1907 it was used as a soup kitchen. The two large coppers have been preserved, each of which held around 70 gallons of soup and the large fireplace with a connecting flue to the coppers was discovered during the conversion, and still on view today and now housing a welcoming wood burning stove.
In 1976 this Grade 2 listed building was converted once more, this time into a public toilet, and after two long years of negotiations with various professional bodies it was eventually granted change of use and on May 4 2018 opened as Rye’s very own micro pub, the Waterworks, the first of its kind in Rye and the first in south east Sussex.
This family run business has gone from strength to strength winning Campaign For Real Ale (CAMRA) awards along the way under the enthusiastic management of David and Ulla Roder , serving eight local real ales, twelve local ciders and a good selection of gins, wines and soft drinks.
Such is the popularity of this unique watering hole, one customer, Phil Law was so blown away by it that he wrote a song, “The Cooper’s Work” about the Waterworks which was videoed live in the pub, sung by Lawrence Wilson and accompanied by Phil on keyboards.
Not content with achieving the accolade of number 1 of 37 things to do in Rye and number 1 of 14 pubs in Rye (TripAdvisor) the Waterworks has also been recognised for its food, and though the small menu only comprises locally home made pork pies, scotch eggs and vegetarian samosas but it has already launched the pub into the number 1 position for recommended places to eat in Rye (TripAdvisor).
Waterworks best bitter was the only thing missing from the drinks menu so David and local, Tim Morgan decided to get it out of their cistern and produce their own beer, why not?
Being a former public loo the proposed new beer needed a subtle link to the Waterworks and its history, there was only one obvious choice of name, the proud parents called their new addition, uRYEnal. The first pint of the secret brew was poured last Friday, March 6 to a packed pub who’s patience and eagerness to sample the 4.0% best bitter was finally rewarded and a deafening cheer cemented their seal of approval.
Of course the proof of the pudding is in the eating, were the customers just paying lip service, or did they really like it? I got my answer when I checked the situation on Sunday evening when David had just finished changing the fifth barrel of uRYEnal consumed that weekend. It’s obviously a winning brew, and let’s hope the guys from CAMRA think likewise, as when they do, David could once again be flushed with success.
Image Credits: Nick Forman .