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have increased the choice on sale and now have up to five real ales at weekends, including a stout or porter, with at least three ales during the week. These guests complement the regular house beers of Bass and Doom Bar. Landlord Paul Harrison says the general increase in demand for real ale in the northern end of the town (which is also home to Fountain, Earl Grey and Benks) means that an increase in range on sale is a logical step forward to cater for his thirsty customers. It is interesting to note that all four pubs which are in close proximity to each other and have been recipients of local CAMRA awards in the past few years. The Earl Grey (as previously mentioned) was also voted Staffordshire Moorlands Pub of the Year in 2015 by local members and went on to be voted the Staffordshire County Pub of the Year in May 2016 by a county wide judging team. It seems many pubs in the town are feeling some impact from this major award coming to our area. The Top Pub in Brown Edge has seen a change of licensees. Local couple Anthony Bedson and Angela Docksey have taken on the lease of this ever-popular real ale and food pub. Angela has returned to her native Brown Edge, having had over 30 years experience in the food and pub trade, at one time running The Rifleman at Acres Nook just outside Kidsgrove, as well as spending some time at the nearby Foaming Quart at Norton Green. Anthony, who is proud to be Brown Edge born and bred, really has come home after living in the house across the road in his younger days and says he has used the Top Pub when its official name was The Rose & Crown since he was 14 years old. They were different times indeed! The Top Pub still provides six real ales served in first class condition and will be open every day for drinks, with food served Wednesday to Sunday from 12noon to 8.30pm. Tuesday will offer a Thai-themed menu. The last week in April saw a new dawn at the Fox & Goose at Foxt. Locals Steve and Keelie Ainsworth are now behind the bar. Having over 10 years experience in the trade, Steve and Keelie hope to build on the reputation of the Fox and Goose, which has changed hands twice in the past four years. It now sells three real ales plus a real cider, with food service running from Tuesday to Friday 5pm till close and Saturday & Sunday 12noon till close. Matt and Zoe Crosier have taken over the Robinson’s Brewery-owned Cheshire Cheese in Longnor, now the only pub left in the village. They have run a pub before, after Matt had a career in the military. Zoe has a long family history in the licenced trade, with her parents running many pubs for many years. Her grandmother’s claim to fame is working as a drayman’s mate in her early years. The new opening hours are 12noon till close every day, with food served 12noon-8pm Monday to Saturday and 12noon-6pm on Sunday. The Foxhound on Biddulph Moor, which closed after the landlady Dorothy Kovacs retired just over two years ago, looks set to re-open towards the end of August. It is thought it will be a mainly food-orientated venue, but they hope to sell some decent real ale too. Watch this space for further news and reports on the progress of this past CAMRA award-winning pub. Caldmore Taverns, who own the hugely popular Fountain in Leek amongst others throughout The Potteries, have bought an empty former bakery in Cheadle High Street and have applied for planning permission to convert it into a pub. They always do a first class renovation job, so it will only add to the real ale that Cheadle already offers. The Queen’s Arms, also in Cheadle has a new landlord in the form of Mark Pennington, who has over 20 years of experience in the trade. He aims to raise the profile of real ale in The Queen’s, which has not had the best of reputations in recent years; the re-launch is planned for Friday, 30 th September and should include a mini beer festival extending over the weekend. A warm welcome is extended to all new licensees in The Moorlands area from the local CAMRA branch. Also a huge “Thank You” to all the businesses and individuals who have shown faith by investing time and money to make The Staffordshire Moorlands the fantastic pub area that we all know and love. Steve Barton Sub-Branch Chairman AUTUMN 2016 POTTERS BAR 33
The Potteries Pub Preservation Group Aim: To investigate, protect and promote public houses of special character in The Potteries & Borough of Newcastle Articles by David Lycett, PPPG Publicity contact: Email: pppgpublicity@gmail.com Telephone: 01782 630153 PPPG COMMUNITY PUB OF THE YEAR The Potteries Pub Preservation Group (PPPG), which was set up 20 years ago, is proud to announce that our community Pub of the Year 2016 has been jointly awarded to The Holy Inadequate, Etruria and The Congress Inn, Longton. This is the first time ever we have had joint winners. PPPG’s Publicity Officer, David Lycett, said “Our group annually votes for our Community Pub of the Year based on six criteria, which we ask our members to consider when making their choices. Pubs can either be corporate members of the group or pubs nominated by members for inclusion on our voting form. We ask members to consider what elements make a Community Pub. Examples of this are the licensee’s standards of professionalism, the internal and external appearance and lay-out of the pub, the beer quality and prices, the pub’s involvement in the local community through charity work and the ambience of the pub and the hospitality of its clientele. Each pub will have the trophy shield, kindly donated by Titanic Brewery, for six months. The Holy Inadequate will have the trophy shield for the first six months. This was recently presented to them by our Chairman, Andy Parkin; many of you may know him as the very helpful gentleman at Hanley Bus Station. Andy said “ I am delighted to give this award to Paul and Sarah Cope and his staff for running such a welcoming pub that serves great beer and cider and where you can hold a conversation.” Six months from now, The PPPG will be presenting the Community Pub of the Year award to Shaun Russell and his wife Sam at the Congress Inn, Longton, which our members hold also in high regards for its community focus and welcoming atmosphere. Our third place award goes to the Duke William Pub, Burslem run by Mark Aston, again a pub that PPPG members warm to for its excellent service and atmosphere. What all of these pubs share in common is that they have been bought by individuals who were willing to invest in pubs which were either closed or under threat of closure and turned them into successful and very welcoming pubs. THE ROYAL OAK IN RUSHTON SPENCER: WORKING CO-OPERATIVELY I had the opportunity to listen to a talk by members of the Royal Oak Pub Community Investment Company (CIC) which is Staffordshire’s only co-operatively run pub. This was held at the Red Lion in Leek, forming part of a meeting of the Staffordshire Moorlands CAMRA Subbranch. The talk was given by Sandra Hughes, a member of the CIC. Sandra said that The Royal Oak, one of three pubs in the village of Rushton Spencer, had had a very chequered history. When it was owned by Marston’s Brewery, it had had a series of different licensees, some more successful than others. On an annual walk which she attended with other residents of the village, there developed much talk about The Royal Oak. Many were concerned that the pub might close. This got Sandra and some of her fellow villagers thinking: rather than just talking about saving the pub, what could they practically do to save it? There was some scepticism initially about what they could do. What they wanted, said Sandra, was a pub that served good food and beer, as well as acting for a hub for the local community. So they organised a series of meetings at the village hall and invited everyone to attend. The community decided to go 34 POTTERS BAR AUTUMN 2016
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Page 9 and 10: having given it a thorough refurbis
Page 11 and 12: MERVYN’S MUSINGS Local historian
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Page 19 and 20: STAFFING FORM 36th STOKE BEER FESTI
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