Restaurant Menu Busy People? Why not Pre -Order: Phone on 01832 732578
before 11.30am, place your order and we will have it ready for you at your
specified time. Food Served:
Lunchtimes: Mon to Fri *12.00-2.30pm, Sat *12.00-3.00pm, Evenings: Mon to Thursday
*6.00 – 8.30pm: Fri & Sat *6.00-9.00pm. (*Service times subject to change at owners
discretion) Starters: All of our starters are
homemade and prepared on the premises Soup of the Day: £3.95
Served with chunky bread. Ask for today’s option. Homemade Chicken Liver Pâté: £4.95 Served with dressed leaves, fruit chutney and toast. Prawn & Crab Fishcakes: £5.75 Homemade and served with, mixed leaves and a slice of lemon & sweet chili
sauce. (V) Portobello Mushroom: £5.25 Topped with either bacon & stilton or capsicum & mozzarella served with dressed leaves. Warmed Smoked Fish Platter: £6.95 Trout, salmon & mackerel served with mixed leaves & horseradish
cream. Chefs Selection of Homemade Chipolatas: £4.95 Three chipolatas, grilled & served with dressed leaves & spicy
tomato dip. Home baked Garlic Bread: £2.25 with Mozzarella cheese: £2.95
Main Courses: Homemade Pie of The Day: from: £8.95 Cooked in a rich sauce, encapsulated in
short crust pastry and served with vegetables of the day. Ask your server for
today’s option The Woolpacks Homemade Sausage &
Mash: £8.95 Served on a bed of creamy mash, topped
with freshly fried onions and smothered in gravy. Fish Dishes: Haddock & Chips: £9.50 A generous portion of haddock, dipped
in beer batter, deep fried and served with homemade tartar sauce, chips and a
wedge of lemon. From The Char Grill: Cajun Chicken: £9.95 A whole breast of chicken marinated in
Cajun spices, served with gourmet chips & salad. 10oz Pork Loin Steak: £11.95 10oz pork loin steak from stilton
butchers, served with a whole baked apple, black pudding & gourmet chips. Thick Cut Gammon Steak: £11.95 Griddled and served with egg or pineapple, mushrooms & gourmet
chips. Sirloin Steak: £14.95 6oz sirloin steak from stilton
butchers, served with tomatoes, mushrooms & gourmet chips. Rump Steak: £15.95 10oz rump steak, also from stilton butchers,
served with tomatoes, mushrooms & gourmet chips. Homemade Sauces: £2.75 Choose from: Peppercorn,
garlic & mushroom or stilton Salads: Cajun Chicken Salad: £9.95 A whole chicken breast marinated in Cajun
spices served on a bed of mixed leaves, chunky chopped onion &, peppers and
fresh coleslaw. Pizza: BBQ Chicken: £9.95 Chicken, sautéed mushrooms and roasted sweet peppers, BBQ sauce and
mozzarella. Meat Feast: £9.95 Pepperoni, ham, bacon & sausage. Hot & Spicy: £9.95 Chorizo, jalapenos & chili flakes. Hawaiian: £9.95 Ham, mushroom, pineapple & oregano (V) Vegetarian Feast: £9.95 Mushrooms, peppers, red onion, jalapenos
& tomato. (V)Margherita: £7.95 Tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and freshly sliced
tomatoes. Why not try adding extra toppings? £1.00 Juicy pineapple chunks,
chunks of ham, spicy pepperoni sausage, sliced mushrooms, green Jalapeño chilies, Chorizo
sausage, sliced roasted sweet peppers, juicy sliced tomatoes Side
Orders: Garlic Bread £2.25 Garlic
Bread With Cheese £2.95
Mixed Salad £2.95 Olives £2.95 Coleslaw
£2.25 Vegetables £2.75
Sautéed Mushrooms £2.25 Mashed Potato £2.25 Chips £2.25 Children’s Meals:(up to 12 years old) Starters: (V) Garlic Bread: freshly baked in our pizza oven . £1.50 Mains: Sausages: served
with chips & beans. £4.95 Chicken Goujons: served with chips & beans. £4.95 Fish Fingers: served with chips & beans. £4.95 Desserts: Two Scoops of Ice Cream: £1.95 2 scoops of ice cream served with marshmallows & wafers Fresh
produce & fish prepared daily. Due
to the nature & demand of some dishes certain dishes may not always be
available. Some dishes may contain
nuts. To the best of our knowledge no GM
products are used in the preparation of our menu. All weights are approximate prior to cooking.
There may be a waiting time in the preparation of some dishes. (V)
Denotes Vegetarian. V.A.T. is included at 20%. There will
be a standard 10% service charge applied to all parties of 10 or more whether
paying as a group or individually.
The management reserves the right to refuse service at all times. Parents are
asked to supervise their children at all times. Service times may vary due to the level of
demand. A brief history of ‘The Woolpack Inn’ Our Inn’s history dates back to the 16th century.
By tracing
back from the landlady of 1796, it has been possible to arrive at John Vorley
who was born in Islip in 1715. In the registers there is a record of the
marriage of one Francis Watkins, "servant to John Vorley, Alehouse
keeper" in 1762, the first indication of John Vorley’s occupation. John Vorley married Mary Sibley at Finedon in 1748 and she
bore him ten children, six of whom survived to adulthood. John Vorley’s own
Will revealed more information about the
Vorley family. Proved in 1777, it is inscribed on the outside of the folded
document "Send probate of this to Mr. Strong at Mr. Squire’s". (This
would be John Squire who had recently had Islip House rebuilt. Mr. Strong is
thought to have been his attorney.) John Vorley left his leasehold estates in
Lowick and Islip to his son Sibley for the remaining term of the lease. This
would have been the Inn and the land which was leased with it. He left a
property with shop and outhouses in Thrapston to his daughter Fanny. These
premises were being used by his son John. His daughter Mary had £40 and Rice Vorley received £100 and
the Islip farm which his father leased from John Squire. Mary Vorley, his wife,
received £6 per annum. The rest of John Vorley’s money or property was left in
the hands of Trustees (Thomas Strong of Thrapston and Charles Knight, a yeoman
farmer of Islip) to be used for the maintenance and education of Henry, the
youngest son, who also had the interest on £200 for life. Thus on his father’s
death Sibley Vorley became the Alehouse keeper, aged only 18. Along with his
two brothers, William and Rice, he was named in 1777 as being liable to serve
with the local Militia. Between 1780 and 1787 his first wife, Hannah, bore him
five children of whom only two survived. Hannah died soon after the birth of
the last baby. As often happened when a father was left with a young family and
a business to run, Sibley remarried. His new wife was Fanny Coales, a very
young widow from Aldwinkle. Sadly she died five years later aged only 26. Again
Sibley remarried quickly and his third wife was Elizabeth Eaton, the daughter
of James and Mary Eaton, who were grocers in Thrapston. This marriage again was
short lived for Sibley himself died the following year (1796). Sibley left his widow, Elizabeth, £200, secured on a bond
from her brothers John and Samuel Eaton, and a further £200. The rest of his
property was to be handled by three trustees - Rice Vorley, his brother,
William Griffin of Thrapston, a cordwainer, and John Knight of Islip, a farmer,
to sell as necessary and invest the proceeds for the maintenance of his
daughters, Elizabeth and Hannah.His widow continued to run the Inn, and she is
named in the Alehouse Keepers’ Recognizances for 1796 as Landlady of the
Woolpack Inn, Islip. So at last we have a documentary proof of the Vorley being
the keepers of the Woolpack. Elizabeth Vorley did not remain a widow for long. In less
than a year she had remarried William Blunson who figured as landlord of the
Woolpack for nearly forty years. He was described as a farmer from Rushton when
he married Elizabeth. The nieces and nephew of Elizabeth Blunson (formerly
Vorley, nee Eaton), now orphans, William Blunson made himself responsible for
their welfare, education and training. It underlined what a busy, kindly, much
respected man Blunson was. When he first came to Islip William Blunson continued to
attend the Baptist Church at Rothwell, but as Thrapston Baptist Church grew he
transferred his membership with a letter of dismission from Rothwell in 1811,
and Elizabeth became a member a few years later. As time went on he undertook
more work on behalf of their church. He became a lay-preacher and was invited
to take services in the surrounding villages as they set up small chapels of
their own. The curious mixture of preacher and publican did not seem to matter. Each year every landlord was required to appear before the
Justices and make an affirmation that his premises would be properly run and
two other inn-keepers stood surety for him. These records are the Alehouse
Keepers Recognizances referred to earlier and was the way premises were
licenced. They are a good source of reference until 1828. From 1826 - 1828 the
Woolpack was licensed in the name of Thomas Dartnell, and his name also appears
in Pigot’s Directory for 1830. Possibly he was employed by the Blunsons to run
the Inn as they became more involved with work for the Baptist Church. William Blunson died in 1838. His wife,
Elizabeth, died two years later (1840) and the Inn was at once taken over by
William’s brother John who had been landlord of the "George" in
Thrapston for a number of years.In 1798 John Blunson had married Mary Buck, the
young widow of George Buck who had kept the "George" Inn thus becoming
its landlord. Sadly, Mary had died in 1808, leaving him with three children,
aged 8, 5 and 2. He had married again to Elizabeth Knight of Kimbolton, by whom
he had three more children. Elizabeth, Ann and Robert. In 1840 the whole family
moved from the George in Thrapston to the Woolpack in Islip. John Blunson
remained as innkeeper until his death in 1846. His widow continued as landlady with her daughter Ann as
barmaid. In 1861 Ann married a widower Lewis Wells, a farmer from Barton
Seagrave. From the time of his marriage Lewis Wells became the licensee of the
Woolpack. He soon brought his mother from Cranford to live with them in Islip. Ann Knight Wells (nee Blunson) died aged 55 in 1873 and old
Mrs. Wells in 1878. Lewis Wells was licensee for nearly twenty years, until
about 1880, and with him the family saga at the Woolpack ended. Today
at The Woolpack Inn you are welcomed by Mike and Michelle and their children
Daisy and Joel. Mike and Michelle are
committed to offering the same levels of service and customer care that have
become expected by all those visitors past, present and future. The Woolpack Inn, 6 Kettering Road, Islip, Kettering, Northants, NN14 3JU Tel:
01832-732578: E-Mail: office@thewoolpackinn.com; Web: the woolpackinn.com