The Swan Inn, originally established in 1536 from a building dating back to the 14th Century, has undergone a transformation and is set to reopen its doors in Autumn.
The Swan Inn is home to a pub bar, a 46-cover dining room, a barn that’s been restored for breakfast and private dining, and 12 ensuite bedrooms. Ten rooms are in the main building and two in the converted pre-Victorian stable block.
Located just a five-minute drive from Pulborough train station and serviced by direct line from London Victoria, the pub plans to open seven days a week.
The building has a cultured history, having previously served as a favoured temporary residence for royal courtiers on their way to London and some of Britain’s artists and writers such as J.M.W Turner, John Constable and Rudyard Kipling.
Menu items include lighter bites of local girolles on toast, Whitstable oysters, stuffed sardines and tongue and remoulade sandwich with fries. Larger dishes include Sutton Hoo chicken, calves’ liver with polenta, and monkfish with ratatouille. There will also be sharing plates such as a whole shoulder of South Downs lamb, Longhorn rib of beef and locally caught fish of the day.
Puddings include a steamed Sussex Pond pudding with Jersey cream for two to share, figs with fresh goat curds drizzled with local honey, treacle tarts and towers of profiteroles. A feasting menu for parties of 12 – 24 will also be available in The Barn.
Local beers from Burning Sky Brewery and Harvey’s will be on tap, and the house pour will be English Sparkling Wine from hyper-local producers Ambriel, and Kinsbrook. The wine cellar has been filled with over 150 bottles of wine, and there will be a selection of eaux de vie, including Capreolus Distillery.
Interiors are the result of a restoration project that’s taken over 26 months. Each bedroom is named, and inspired by, the guests of the past, and “whilst they will retain original quirks pertaining to the nature of the building, every bedroom has been modernised”.
Design points focus on varied textures and British fabrics, antique furniture, Frette linens and Verden toiletries.
The guest’s larder will feature a hand painted mural from artist Meg Boscawen and is home to an honesty box space which will be filled with fresh cakes and snacks from the kitchen daily, as well as a well-stocked bar. A mezzanine area will serve as a snug for guests to enjoy, and breakfast will be served every morning in the barn.
Managing director Angus Davies said of the opening: “We’re so looking forward to opening the doors of The Swan Inn once again. The restoration has been an incredible project for us, and we can’t wait to fill the pub once more with locals, residents and guests from further afield.
“We wanted to bring back the feeling of this pub being a proper hub for the village: reliable, familiar and unfussy. We are not a gastropub by any means, our intentions are to offer consistently good food, great drinks and well-appointed rooms, in hopefully, a very well-loved setting.”