Boscombe bar and restaurant attends Great British Pub Awards

Nominated for the best pub for entertainment, Chaplin's bar and cellar left the Great British Pub Awards at Victoria Warehouse in Manchester on September 17 empty-handed.

 Despite this, the bar's owner, Harry Seccombe, expressed that he is proud to have been nominated for the ninth time.

He said: "We've obviously been doing something right to be recognised at that level. We were in the entertainment section and we do seven days a week which is very unique.

"I think this is the ninth time and I've won three times. It's a bit further to travel than it used to be in London. I went up the day before [September 16] and stayed in an Airbnb for two nights."

Harry attended the event with his son, Gregor Seccombe, his stepdaughter, Pearl Bailey, and his barman.

Alongside Chaplin's, several other pubs from the Dorset were also nominated for different awards.

This included The Horse and Groom in Fordingbridge for the best country pub, The Old Thatch in Wimborne for the best pub for families, The Cricketer Arms for the best pub to watch sport, and Bermuda Triangle in Poole for the best pub for beer.

Chaplins was the only pub to represent Bournemouth and, more specifically, Boscombe, which Harry expressed was important in showing how the suburb is improving.

He said: "I think it is really good for the area that we area that we are a multi-award winning venue. 

"We're getting Boscombe on the map and people denigrate it as it's an easy option but Boscombe gets better every year. 20 years now we've helped prove the place and add it."

The Great British Pub Awards is the start of a busy week for the pub which has planned to also unveil its new smokehouse on the weekend of 21-22 September.

In keeping with the theme of the pub, the smokehouse has been named the firehouse after the 1916 Charlie Chaplin film, The Fireman, and will serve smoked meats as the pub continues to improve its eating experience.