24 January 2018

24 January, 2018 / The Ship and Shovell, Craven Passage An intriguing Victorian pub, this property is rare in that if features two bars on either side of Craven Passage joined together underground by a common cellar. Locals refer to meeting in either the North or South bar. History gives mixed accounts of its name's origin. Either it relates to it being a hostelry for coal labourers or, alternatively and the story the owners have adopted, is that it may have been named after a naval Admiral, Sir Cloudesley Shovell. Sir Shovell joined the Navy as a cabin boy and after a long and illustrious career rose to the rank of Admiral. Unfortunately he died on HMS Association in 1707 in the Scilly Naval Disaster. The accident was attributed to the inability of the navigators to calculate longitude. http://shipandshovell.co.uk