Our Story...

The Olde England - History

The Olde England opened in October 2011, initially as a micropub. 

The only bar was originally a hatch on the first floor, where cask ales were served by gravity from pins, along with real ciders, much like one would find at a beer festival. The pub used to stock a small selection of soft drinks, and around 4 different spirits. There was seating on the ground floor and the first floor. The cellar area was originally derelict.

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During the winter and spring of 2011/2012, Paul, the owner, worked tirelessly to rennovate the cellar and the cellar bar opened mid way through 2012 to great acclaim!

Food service also began in 2012, with our famous Sunday Lunches becoming available, along with a a weekday menu. Medieval feasts soon became part of our offering for special weekend events.

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As our customer base grew, we increased our range of drinks offers to include quality lagers and some continental beers such as Hoegaarden, which proved popular.

Fruit wines and meads became a staple too, and soon the first floor filled with groups of friends, table-top gamers, family diners and more.

The cellar bar was the 'place to be' at a weekend with a lively group congregating and one could occasionally find the odd sing-along as well as on seasonal nights, a well curated playlist of old favourites. The weekly Wednesday Quiz grew in popularity, with at one stage 40 participants for a fancy dress halloween event. 

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In 2018, a decision was made to move the bar from the cellar to the ground floor, to allow for the identity of the pub to be more visible from the street, as well as allow for an improved layout in the cellar, which had become crowded as we increased the range of available products.

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Over the years a large number of valued customers have spent their time with us, and a community of people grew around the pub, with laughter and joy, as well as the odd wake and glass being raised to absent friends remembered fondly. Times were good and trade was brisk for the next year or so until....

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March 2020. COVID-19. This was an abosulute disaster for the Olde England. With no outside space, and it being practically impossible to enforce the 2m rule, the pub had to close. Efforts were made to add segregated areas to the upstairs and downstairs areas to be compliant, and we could open for a couple of months until the Autumn/Winter lockdown of 2020, at which point the pub had to close again. We did not reopen until all restrictions were finally lifted in July 2021.

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Post-COVID the Olde England struggled to keep afloat. Customers did start to come back, but things had fundamentally changed, and trade was poor. This culminated in the real possibility of closure which arose in March 2025.

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But it isn't all bad news.... after much negotiation, many sleepless nights and paperwork, the OE Pub Company was formed, to manage the running of the pub in partnership with its original owner. 

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The Olde England is now a community pub. The management of the premises is undertaken by a cooperative association comprising long time customers, staff, ex-staff and members of the local community who form a management committee and board. Much of this work is voluntary, although there are also paid staff members who make up the management team. The local community simply could not stand by and allow this valuable hub to close.

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We hope you will be able to make more memories with us, and enjoy the unique atmosphere of the pub. More friendship, more laughter, more joy, and let us all raise a glass to the future of the Olde England.

Cheers!​​

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