LICENSED premises in Watchet have been given their annual ‘inspection’ by the town’s Court Leet to check that the ales they were selling were ‘good and wholesome’ for both townsfolk and visitors alike.

The Court Leet of Watchet has been carrying out the traditional ale tasting for hundreds of years.

It appoints two ale tasters each year who have the job of sampling the beers which licensed premises offer to customers.

The two appointed ale tasters for this year were Robert Dibble and Niall Watson, who were accompanied by ‘bailiff’ Mike Champion.

They used engraved silver tankards which were gifted by former leet juror, the term for a member, Graham Coggins following his retirement from the Court Leet in 2017.

The proceedings began at noon with Watchet’s town crier and official bell man, David Milton, annually appointed by the Court Leet, visiting the Co-op store and Chives Cafe.

He informed the proprietors that on this occasion their beers would not be consumed, but that the Court Leet could return next year to sample its products, so standards must remain high.

The official tasting then started at the Esplanade Club, followed by further visits to The Bell Inn, Pebbles Tavern, the London Inn, the Star Inn, and, for the first time, the Royal British Legion Club.

All the establishments passed the quality control test, with ‘excellent ale and cider’ reported in all of them.

Each premises was presented with an official authentication certificate from the Court Leet.

One Watchet establishment which could not be ‘inspected’ this year was the West Somerset Hotel, in Swain Street, which closed recently.

Its owner the Stonegate Group, the UK’s largest pub company, is currently looking for a new landlord to re-open the premises, described as ‘a community pub at its heart’.

Bailiff Mike Champion said: “It is important to keep these traditions alive in Watchet, and to carry out these duties during a busy weekend in the town made it even more special.

“A big thank you must go to all the clubs and pubs that were so welcoming and hospitable during the afternoon.”

Although ceremonial in the modern age, Court Leets were originally manorial courts dispensing local justice and carrying out administrative duties.

The earliest record of Watchet’s Court Leet dates to 1273, when the main landowners in the town, the Wyndham Estate, appointed a panel of 16 ‘True Men of Watchet’ who oversaw law and order in the area for centuries until the 1800s.

Roles included constables, pig drivers, officers of weights and measures, and scavengers, as well as the two ale tasters.

The organisation’s next event is its annual meeting and goose dinner which is being held in The Bell Inn on Thursday, October 31, when appointments for the next year will be made.

Summonses today for its meetings still bear the coat of arms of the Wyndham family.

The Court Leet still has a lock-up at the rear of what is now the town’s Market House Museum.