In a recent Daily Beast article, several favorite drinking spots of famous writers are identified. One of these is the Barley Mow in Colehill north of Wimborne in Dorset:
Evelyn Waugh, distinguished author and godfather of this publication (which takes its name from his novel Scoop), was a master carouser. While the penman patronized plenty of pubs scattered across dear old England, The Barley Mow holds a special place for Waugh lovers. While living in this boarding house-cum-pub, Waugh wrote part of his first novel Decline and Fall. When he wasnât writing, he spent plenty of time imbibing in the pub downstairs with visiting friends and his future wife, conveniently of the same name, Evelyn Gardner.
It is nor clear from their listing whether the current landlords still rent out the room over the pub where Waugh did his work, but it might be worth asking. Duncan McLaren has described his recent visit to this pub but he stayed in a nearly B&B. Evelyn! Rhapsody for an obsessive love.
Other watering holes still operating that were frequented by writers of Waugh’s generation include Sloppy Joe’s Saloon in Havana, made famous by Graham Greene and recently reopened after being shuttered for 50 years, the White Horse Tavern in New York’s West Village, where Dylan Thomas drank his last, and the Liguanea Club in Jamaica, where Ian Fleming hung out on his extended visits to that island (not a pub but a private club for expat whites).
