Cambridge & District CAMRA is very proud that one of its pubs, the Queen’s Head in Newton, has received one of CAMRA’s Golden Awards. The award will be presented by CAMRA’s East Anglia regional director Andrea Briers to current licensee, Robert Short, at the pub at this evening (Thurs).
Robert represents the third generation of the Short family to have run the Queen’s Head. His father, David, ran it before him and prior to that his grandparents, Harry & Ruth, who saved it from demolition when they purchased it in 1962.
The Queen’s Head is one of only five pubs across the country to have appeared in all 48 editions of CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide. This award is a testament to the cellar skills and dedication of three generations of the Short family. The evolution of the pub under their stewardship has been gradual and sensitive. If you knew the pub in the 60s you would immediately recognise it today. As well as the quality of its ales, poured direct from the casks on a stillage behind the bar, the pub is also renowned for its various shades of brown soup and sandwiches.
Robert’s father, David, also played a key role in establishing the Cambridge Beer Festival and was the festival’s licence holder for many of the early years. In 2012 David was the inaugural recipient of Cambridge & District CAMRA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Alistair Cook, Pubs Officer said “It is always a pleasure when my cycle rides bring me to Newton. The Queen’s Head is a pub with bags of character as well as well-kept cask beer. To find a seat near its fire on a winter’s evening is a particular delight.”
CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) has 190,000 members, 5,000 of whom are in the local branch area. The Cambridge & District branch covers the City of Cambridge, most of South Cambridgeshire and some of East Cambridgeshire.