76 Main St, Cullybackey, Ballymena BT42 1BW
A John Betjamin poem ‘The Village Inn’ ends with these words; Hurrah hurrah for hearts of oak, Away with inhibitions, For here’s a place to sit and soak In sanitary conditions.
The poet had no particular village inn in mind but when you visit the pub of that name in Cullybackey and see the spotless condition of the toilets, the airy cleanliness of the upstair’s bar restaurant and the overall sparkle of this old establishment the last line of Betjamin’s work comes almost mentally to mind. The Village Inn has been here, under different names, since the 18th Century and was at one stage the Railway Hotel. It still has a hotel licence, in fact, although there are no accommodation facilities at the moment, but Bertie Stevenson, the affable and energetic owner, has ideas in that direction. He has refurbished and enlarged the whole place, converting what had become a house bar into a much more generous sized pub by incorporating the old sitting room downstairs into the public bar, and making a lovely upstairs dining bar from the former bedrooms. During the conversion an old fireplace, about 250 years old, was discovered hidden behind a cupboard and its iron crane, made by a local blacksmith all those years ago and still bearing his name, now finds itself in the open fire at one end of the bar. The counter top is of an unusual wood called antique Eldorado and matches perfectly the attractive tiled floor. Upholstered snugs and dazzlingly clean white walls, thick tweed seating, dark brown velvet curtains and a rattan screen add to the comfort. On some of the very old photos of the village on the walls the building is clearly indentifiable, and you’ll see as well, some good drawings of old Cullybackey.
The large embossed wallpaper is an unusual feature in a pub and here it harmonises very nicely with the rest of the decor. At the back of the pub the large lounge, with its seven red velvet snugs, small dance floor and stage for live groups for an evening’s entertainment, first class food, and a drink in the friendliest of places. By the way, those toilets mentioned earlier include an invalid toilet, so nobody is denied the ‘Sanitary conditions’ of the Village Inn, Cullybackey.