Volunteer Inn

 

The Volunteer Inn

When the pub first opened in the 19th Century it was called The Rifle Volunteer, a tribute no doubt to many local people who joined the army. Licensees Kevin and Carol Nichol are still looking for volunteers – but not to fight for Queen and country, to join their darts, pool, and Aunt Sally teams.

If there is enough demand there will be crib and dominoes teams too. The couple have recently moved to the pub after 20 years in South Africa – and it is their ambition to once more make the pub a centre for community activity. Newspapers are available for anyone wanting to pop in for a morning coffee or a glass of Hooky Bitter.

Wholesome pub food is prepared in the kitchen for people who want to eat at lunchtime or in the evening. Come the summer a braai vleis – the South African equivalent of a barbecue – is planned for the attractive fenced, courtyard garden. Close to the home of the Williams F1 team – Kevin is on the look out for racing memorabilia to decorate the bar – and Carol is keen to track down old pictures of the pub. With a large car park – the pub is an ideal venue for Morris sides and is suitable for ramblers who want to park safely for the day – returning to the pub for lunch or dinner.

The pub is well known to pigeon fanciers, as a clocking station is housed in the car park – this is the place where racing pigeons are released from, before flying back to their lofts. Kevin is a West Ham United fan with over 40 years of grief, tears and even elation – and as far as he is concerned the only way for The Volunteer is up – unlike his beloved Hammers.

The Volunteer was originally built to serve the local Wantage Road station and the terminus of the old Wantage tramway. Keen industrial archaeologists can still see evidence of these. The Volunteer is on the edge of the village of Grove, three miles north of Wantage on the A338, the road to Oxford.