The Stables Bar
A Mini Pub for your Wedding Day? Wow, that’s Magic.
Here’s a tasty little bit of Bateman’s Barn history. Long ago (well, in the final years of the last century at least), the old stable block by the medieval barn on South Elmham island was looking somewhat sad and pony-less. Then, one of its owners developed a real thirst for a new project…
If, like John, you can think of few things more magical than having your own little pub, Bateman’s Barn has something extra special to share with you on your wedding day…
Small, but perfectly formed & brim-full of character
Loved back to life, cool-yet-cosy and making the most of all its oak-beam and medieval flint-wall features, the Stables Bar has a way of wooing folk with just a single step across its threshold. A relaxed, intimate and comfortable place to be, it’s not surprising that at many a wedding, we’ve found guests (and grooms!) choosing to hang out here for a chilled-out catch-up with old friends, or long-time-no-see family members.
Operated as a cash/card pay bar with tab facilities as desired, The Stables Bar is open from the arrival of your first guests at your summer wedding to ‘carriages’ time after your evening party. It's brilliantly well-stocked - and the beer’s good too. But then what else would you expect when someone’s put their heart into turning a tack room into a tap room, complete with all the kit to ensure that every drink can be served up in the adjacent bar at its perfect temperature - whatever the weather?
The home of good spirits (beers,lagers...)
With its building dating from the 17th century, the Stables Bar at Bateman’s Barn is quietly quirky rather like the rest of the time-honoured architecture on the island. We've managed to track down an original copy of the auction catalogue when our South Elmham lands were sold off from the mighty Flixton Hall Estate. It lists the buildings which now make up the popular Stables Bar as the following:
"By the approach to the Hall - Two-Stalled Riding Horse STABLE,
HARNESS HOUSE, CHAISE HOUSE and Motor Garage."
A nifty little mix of ancient and modern in 1920, don't you think?
A century on, as well as sporting beautiful beams and an oak-topped bar, the historic set of stable buildings retain their traditional paintwork - and the original red-brick floor, worn into gentle undulations by generations of happy hooves. It’s a feature that’s as handy as it is charming - if you find yourself just a little bit wobbly at the end of your evening of celebrations, you can always blame the floor!
The Stables Bar is stocked as standard with all the perennial favourites and a good helping of what’s on trend. You’ll find wines from the New World and old, Prosecco, Champagne plus a wide selection of spirits, including plenty of gins and whiskies galore - some carefully selected by us on ‘business trips’ to our spiritual home, Scotland, which is not so very far beyond John’s ancestral homeland of County Durham.
Draft-wise, there’s Adnams lager, cider, beers plus real ales on request and classic bar snacks from nuts to quality crisps. We offer best-loved branded soft drinks and mixers, leading continental bottled lagers and premium fruit ciders, all perfectly chilled alongside some great zero or low alcohol brews including Adnams Ghost Ship.
In-cider information
The Stables Bar may be the apple of John’s eye and refreshing local lovelies like cider from down-the-road Debenham or homemade juice from our very own orchards may be particularly popular choices, but at Bateman’s Barn one thing we really pride ourselves on is supplying the perfect, personalised choice of beverages for each event.
We’ll be sure to find out what temptations tickle your tastebuds and are more than happy to bring in guests ales from local breweries, flavoursome gins from special distilleries or putting on drinks from your home region too. So if you hail from Dublin and know you’ll be hankering after Guinness or are simply nipping across the Waveney from Norfolk and can’t imagine a real celebration without a pint of ‘Wherry’ in your hand, we’ll do our utmost to serve you the pint of your choice, perfectly pulled.
"The bar at Batemans is really well stocked and expertly run by John but we loved that we were asked if we wanted to add any of our favourites. We are gin lovers, so it was wonderful to have a personalised selection of drinks to suit both us and our guests." (Faith & Tom)
Helping you keep a tab on things if you wish
The Stables Bar at Bateman’s Barn is operated as a pay bar. Guests are invited to set up tabs for day if they wish, or pay-as-they-go either with cash, or by using the card machine to make payments.
Some of our wedding couples like to set up a bar tab for guests up to an agreed amount, or offer a first free drink or free drinks for a set time. We’re more than happy to manage this for you and over the years, we have organised this service to include either a set menu of drinks (such as beer, wine, lager and soft drinks only, or perhaps a more personalised option like a Prosecco Cocktail). Finding the option that works best for you is only a conversation away.
Ensuring that there’s something for everyone
We appreciate that pub drinks aren’t everyone’s cup of tea, so we make sure that refreshing cuppas and coffees are available from the Stables Bar too. When it comes to refreshments for the littlest guests and drinks for the under 10s, we make an exception to our standard policy of no-own-drinks please. (For reception wines and toast drinks we do offer a corkage facility.)
We always advise bringing a good selection of drinks and snacks to keep small people smiling throughout the day. Juice cartons, pouches or small non-glass bottles seem to go down well and small bananas, apples, oranges, dried fruits and a few sweet treats seem popular choices to keep youngsters contented between meals. We’ll provide a basket to help you create an attractive display and will assist by keeping it topped up with the goodies you supply over the course of the day, so there’s always something to hand for your young guests to enjoy.
