The Talisman - Corby

Moonlight becomes you...

This pub blogging lark has a tendency to elevates the senses to a far higher level than mere regular pub-going. I now find that I'm tuned-in to all the important pub news and gossip, intimately connected to a deep-level Pub Blogging Matrix that only a select few even know exists (or does it!). I'm literally all over the Corby ganglion of this network, like a damp beer towel soaking up all the local pub-news drips and spillages. New openings, music and meat raffle dates, potential craft beer contamination, all on my super-sensitive Corby pub radar. Nothing of note escapes me, I see all and hear everything...

True that!

So how can it be that top local journalist Alison Bagley of Northamptonshire Telegraph fame, has scooped the Corby pub news of the year from right under my nose! The imminent, and potentially permanent closure of one of Corbys best-loved estate pubs, splashed across this weeks Corby edition whilst I was too busy looking the other way (researching Scotch Pie availability at The Clansman as it happens). Clearly this matrix has been hack'd!*

(*NOTE: No actual journalistic Hackery is implied by this lame wordplay)

In truth I'd already felt a disturbance in the 'pub-osphere', channelled through a well known social media platform, the name of which I shall not utter here. Alison merely confirmed the news with extra juicy details and the kind of photo journalism us lowly bloggers can only dream of. She also laid to rest the notion that the pub might in fact close permanently... Possibly. Phew!

Nevertheless, I was shocked. Shocked I tell thee! Since embarking on this 'EPIC' adventure it's become apparent to me that I've already missed several notable pubs in the town. Closed, forever! In the case of The Pluto, closed and demolished, forever! I couldn't run the risk of missing another one, just for the want of having almost no time to visit before last last orders on Friday. Luckily a window of opportunity opened early-doors Thursday, and Mrs EPIC kindly offered to drive. Our chippy tea would have to wait...

Corby Town Mural in the Bar

The Talisman had already been on my radar anyway. In fact I was holding off visiting the Tali' (as it's known locally) until next years Tali-Fest came around, an all-day Summer knees-up that's been running at the pub for several years now. A very popular music and family event by all accounts, I just hope it can continue in some shape or form if and when a new team take over at the pub.

Tucked away in the very heart of Danesholme, (Corbys little known Danish Quarter?), the Talisman is another of the New Town's classic 1970's flat-roof estate pubs. Originally an M&B Brewery house it seems, Corby was clearly open to any local or national brewer who fancied dipping their toe into a growing, and very thirsty new market ("A new Steelworks town you say!... How big?... How many!?... When can we start building...").

At perhaps a mile south of town, it's not a pub you're likely to drive or walk past on the way to anywhere. Very much a local pub for local people, other than when it's hosting music nights in the substantial Function Room, at which point it becomes The Talisman Rock Bar and I get two pubs for the price of one!

When we rolled-up on a beautifully moonlit Thursday evening, the pub was in almost total darkness. In fact it looked decidedly closed from the adjacent car parking area. Had we missed the final night? Were our efforts in vain? Thankfully not, but it took almost a full circumnavigation of the pub before we found welcome signs of life, and a door that opened into the warmth of the bar. It's a slightly odd layout that the main bar faces out to an empty green space, the rest of the pub, dark and unused on this occasion, faces the car parking area for a small but comprehensive shopping and takeaway court. Less enthusiastic customers than ourselves might have given up at this point and settled for a Kebab. We however are nothing if not insanely enthusiastic when it comes to estate pubs on a Thursday evening.

Slight Carpet Disappointment

This was the classic early-doors post-work session, recently voted by pubgoers everywhere as the best pub session of them all. Couples, families, Hi-Vis attired workmen on the way home, all for the most part propped stylishly against the bar and available for drinks advice and cheery welcomes to strangers like ourselves. Absolutely everyone was smiling, laughing, chatting, boozing, proper early evening local pubbing. A toddler careered around the bar to great effect, squeezing the last bit of pleasure out of the day, all too aware of the impending 8pm curfew for children in the bar. Was this place really closing tomorrow?...

The beer range was slightly limited, awaiting a delivery for the big curtain-call tomorrow night. Yes, the pub was definitely closing. Kronenbourg? Non! Birra Morretti? err... No! Pure Spanish brewed craft beer from a railway arch in Barcelona and a creamy Dublin Stout? Yes and yes! So yet another of Corbys ultra-rare cask-free pubs, which is coming as something of a relief to be honest. How much Doom Bar would a pub like the Talisman actually shift do we think? Not a lot I suspect. Cask isn't for everyone! The ongoing absence of Tartan Bitter continues to be a disappointment though, the quest for Culturally Important Heritage Keg Ales goes on.

The Function Room

The mighty AC/DC struck up on the video jukebox and it was sadly time to go. I do hope the Talisman re-opens soon. It's a tidy pub and a fine community local serving a loyal local trade as well as an important live music venue for the area. Star Pubs & Bars have the pub listed as 'To Let', and I would have thought there'd be plenty of interest from locals with experience of the trade. It's the sort of pub that rewards the effort of offering the locals what they want, a straightforward place to meet up and socialise over a pint or few. Would I go back? Well I'm unlikely to be passing the Talisman any time soon if I'm honest, but if there were a good band on, or I was waiting for a fresh batch of chips to fry across the road, why not, we both liked the place.

Needless to say, when the Talisman does finally reopen, we're unlikely to be the first to know, and I very much doubt you'll read it here first...

UPDATE (September 2024): The pub has now closed and is on the market as a freehold property, however the building was subject to a major fire on the 26th August and it seems highly unlikely it will ever open as a pub again (see Corby’s Lost Pubs).

Flat Roof Amenities: Chippy (Scottish trans: Fish Bar), Kebabs, Hairdresser, Convenience Stores, Scooter Fun