A Hidden Gem in Poundbury: The Poet Laureate on Pummery Square

Tucked into Pummery Square, just beside Brownsword Hall where so many of our community activities are held, the Poet Laureate is a place that rewards those who make the effort to find it. 

Did you know that the pub was named after Ted Hughes, the Poet Laureate whom King Charles III admires? It's a fitting choice for a community built around the King's vision. Hughes wrote of the English landscape as something that holds a person in place: a force as much as a setting, and there's something of that feeling in Pummery Square on a quiet evening.

At the heart of the Poet Laureate is a family who know what they're doing: Neil 'Chilli' Chilcott came to Poundbury having previously run the much-loved Riverside Restaurant in West Bay and managed the George Hotel in Bridport with his wife Sarah. Between them they've spent years learning what makes people feel welcome rather than merely served. His son Daniel and sister Gemma complete the team, making the Poet a proper family enterprise, which shows in the atmosphere, the welcome, and the care taken with each pint and plate.

And then there are the spirits. Over 130 unique spirits behind the bar makes this quietly one of the most interesting places to drink in the area, the kind of thing that rewards an open mind and a willingness to be pointed somewhere unexpected. If you think you know what you like, Chilli and the team may well surprise you.

The traditional Sunday carvery, served 12pm to 4pm every Sunday, has become a local institution, but book ahead, because it fills up. The Poet also offers a Fish and Chip Friday (6–9pm, £16.50 with a glass of wine or half a beer) and the Wednesday midweek roast (£16.50 with tea or coffee) to round out a weekly rhythm designed for real life here.

Beyond the food and drink, the Poet Laureate hosts quiz nights, table skittles, occasional live music, and charity fundraisers. And perhaps not surprisingly for a pub bearing a poet's name, there's a poetry open mic night: Jawbone @ the Poet, run by the Jawbone Collective on the fourth Tuesday of every month. We feel Hughes would have approved.

If you're new to Poundbury and haven't yet explored Pummery Square, the Poet is worth the wander. The square was the original community hub of early Poundbury, home to Brownsword Hall, and it retains a quiet, intimate character that fits the Poet Laureate perfectly: unhurried, neighbourly, and well worth discovering. And if you're heading to or from an event on the Great Field, it's also the closest pub—worth remembering when you want to round off a good day there without a trek!

The Poet Laureate, 5 Pummery Square, Poundbury DT1 3GW. Tel: 01305 267000. Closed Mondays. For more shopping, eating and services in Poundbury, see here.