A PUB which describes itself as a “sweetie shop for beer lovers” has been named the best pub in Sussex for 2019.

The Duke of Wellington in Shoreham received the accolade at the Sussex Life Food and Drink hospitality awards.

One of the pub’s managers, Hannah Harrison, attended the ceremony at The Grand hotel in Brighton and said she was not expecting to win.

She said: “I went to the awards with Matthew Szul, our entertainments manager, as our other manager Drake was away on holiday.

“There were about 20 pubs which made the shortlist, and when we arrived we found out we had made the final three.

“We couldn’t believe it.”

The two other finalists in the best pub category were the Brookstead Alehouse in Worthing, a small pub which aims to promote conversation in a quiet atmosphere, and renowned ale pub The Seal in Selsey.

When the winner was announced, Hannah said she was ecstatic.

“It was absolutely amazing,” she said.

“We’ve never won anything quite like this before.”

“A lady from BBC Sussex presented us with the award, and she said I just couldn’t stop smiling.”

Hannah believes the Shoreham pub, which is affectionately known as “The Welly” by regulars, is special because of its friendly atmosphere and local characters.

She said: “It’s a real community pub and a great live music venue.

“We’ve had a lot of new people move to the area recently because of new developments, and they have been totally embraced by the regulars.

“Newcomers always want to stay and they keep coming back.”

The pub has been serving the people of Shoreham since Victorian times, when it was a popular place for the harbour and boatyard workers.

The building was renovated in 1928 in the Arts and Craft architectural style with a more genteel interior, and still retains stained glass windows along with original plaster work.

Owned by Dark Star Brewery founder Rob Jones and his wife Jess Green since 2013, the pub is a free house, and benefits from being able to hand-pick a range of cask ales and ciders, along with continental and English style beers in kegs and a large bottled collection.

Hannah said: “We have a super range of beer – there are always nine casks which are constantly changing.

“As we’re a free house we can pick whatever beers we want, and we always try to pick the more interesting ones.”

Having a good relationship with local breweries makes it a popular spot for launching new beers, and the pub frequently boasts one-off specials and hybrid brewery collaborations.

Bar billiards and board games can be found towards the back of the space, which leads out into a large sheltered beer garden.

The Welly does not serve food and Hannah said this allows them to focus on preserving the pub’s traditional character as a friendly local and a haven for grassroots live music.

“We sponsor the Wellington Wailers, our sea shanty band who come in once a month, and they’re great fun.

“We have a very eclectic mix of music, including rock covers bands, reggae, bluegrass, and we have jazz on a Saturday afternoon.

“A few times a year we also get DJs down from London for a house night, which always goes down well.

“You don’t really get anything like that elsewhere in Shoreham.”

Child friendly and pet friendly, the pub hosts regular week night events including an open mic night, ukulele workshops and a quiz night, but Hannah said they also like to hold more quirky celebrations.

“We have our annual pickled egg competition this Saturday, where we get regulars to bring in their own creations.

“We’re also big on traditional pagan festivals, so we do a Wassail night in January with music, and you have to get a virgin to hang a post on an apple tree – which luckily we have in our beer garden.

“We also do a weekend of music for the Beltane May Day festival, and we decorate the pub with flowers.

“In the summer we have a beer festival and there’s the dragon boat racing on the River Adur, which we compete in.”

Like all the best pubs, Hannah said it is the people who make it a great place to be, and The Welly is unusual in that it appeals to a broad age range.

“One of of our lovely regulars John had his 90th birthday here, but we also get young people in, especially at the weekends.

“It’s a really welcoming community hub – with great beer.”