3

The Ship Inn food hygiene rating

Pub/bar/nightclub · New Forest

The Ship Inn holds a 3: generally satisfactory. The pub met the legal standard, but the inspector recorded enough minor issues that it fell short of a good or very good rating.

The rating: 3 - Generally satisfactory

The rating dates from 5 November 2024, 20 months ago. That is getting on for the longest gap councils usually leave, so the score may not reflect how the business is run today.

Address: 68 High Street, Fordingbridge, SP6 1AX

How it compares in New Forest

In New Forest, 80% of rated places manage a 5, so The Ship Inn sits behind roughly 1,336 nearby businesses. 5% of the borough shares its 3.

Every rated food business in New Forest
5 out of 5 1,153 80%
4 out of 5 183 13%
3 out of 5 69 5% ← The Ship Inn
2 out of 5 6 <1%
1 out of 5 23 2%
0 out of 5 1 <1%

A further 138 businesses in the area are awaiting inspection or exempt, so are not counted above.

What the inspector found

An inspection scores three things: how food is handled, the physical condition of the premises, and how much the inspector trusts management to keep standards up. At The Ship Inn none of the three raised a concern, the overall rating is only ever as strong as its weakest area, so a clean sweep is what produces a high score.

Food hygiene ratings nearby

The closest food businesses to The Ship Inn, nearest first, so you can see how it compares to its neighbours.

Business Distance Rating Inspected
Belinda's Bakery Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen at this address 5 - Very good 6 October 2025
Bridges Cafe Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen at this address 5 - Very good 14 January 2025
Co-Operative Retailers - supermarkets/hypermarkets at this address 5 - Very good 23 February 2026
The Crown Inn Pub/bar/nightclub at this address 4 - Good 24 November 2025
Dominic Cafe Restaurant/Cafe/Canteen 8 yards away 4 - Good 26 January 2026
The Gourmet Grocer Retailers - other 41 yards away 5 - Very good 6 December 2019
Philpotts Takeaway/sandwich shop 41 yards away 5 - Very good 5 March 2026
The Cottage Loaf Retailers - other 41 yards away 5 - Very good 4 February 2025

Questions about The Ship Inn

What is The Ship Inn's food hygiene rating?

The Ship Inn has a food hygiene rating of 3 out of 5 (generally satisfactory), given by New Forest Council on 5 November 2024.

Is The Ship Inn safe to eat at?

A 3 means the pub met the legal standard, so it is lawful to eat there, but the inspector recorded issues that stopped it scoring higher. It is the middle of the scale.

When was The Ship Inn last inspected?

The Ship Inn was last inspected on 5 November 2024, 20 months ago. Food hygiene inspections are unannounced, and the rating is published by New Forest Council rather than by the business.

What did the inspector find at The Ship Inn?

The inspector scored three areas. Hygienic food handling was rated "generally satisfactory", the cleanliness and condition of the building "generally satisfactory", and confidence in the management of food safety "generally satisfactory". Lower concern in all three is what earns a high overall rating.

How does The Ship Inn compare to other places in New Forest?

80% of the 1,435 rated food businesses in New Forest hold the top rating of 5, while The Ship Inn holds a 3. 69 places in the area share that rating.

Who decides the rating?

New Forest Council inspects The Ship Inn and sets the rating; the Food Standards Agency publishes it. Neither the business nor this site can change a rating, a business that disagrees can appeal to its council, and can request a re-inspection once it has fixed the problems.

Tell me when this changes

The Food Standards Agency publishes only a business's rating today, not what it scored before, and not when it moves. We check every UK rating each night. Watch The Ship Inn and we will email you the morning after its rating changes.

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Understanding this rating

More food hygiene ratings near here

The Ship Inn is one of 90 rated food businesses in Fordingbridge. See every hygiene rating in Fordingbridge

New Forest inspects and rates 1,573 food businesses across its whole area. See every food hygiene rating in New Forest

The official record is held by the council: http://www.newforest.gov.uk

Rating from the Food Standards Agency under the Open Government Licence. Ratings reflect standards found at the time of inspection and can change. If you think a rating is wrong, the official record is held by the FSA and the local authority; corrections there flow through here. How ratings work →