Most Improved Pub Award - 2007
This is an occasional award issued whenever the branch feel that a pub in the area is deserving. The last time in was awarded was in 2002, but in 2007 we feel that two pubs merit the title "Improved Pub"
The Black Bull, Haworth
Standing at the top of Haworth Main Street is what was one of Branwell Brontë’s regular drinking haunts: The Black Bull Hotel. “Branwell’s Chair” can still be found at the pub today.
On 16th December 2004, James Williams and partner Melanie Chan Tack took over the lease at this Enterprise pub. Being involved with pubs since an early age, James had previous supervisory bar experience “over the border” at the Rain Bar, Manchester, and the Gardeners Arms, Heywood. This is their first venture in running their own pub business.
Prior to their taking over, in my opinion, this was an average pub with little to offer the discerning cask beer drinker. Off their own backs, James, Melanie and managers Chris Melvin and Ben White have certainly made an impact here.
Firstly, the pub has improved culturally with artwork from local artist Chris McCarthy on display, Celtic music on a Wednesday evening and resident musician Neil performing Bob Dylan and Neil Young numbers on alternate Thursdays.
Secondly, the pub has improved socially, it has a noticeably more friendly, welcoming and less rowdy “local” feel to it. A restaurant area provides home cooked food provided by Chef Chris Kitson.
Thirdly, they have made a BIG improvement in the choice and quality of the cask beer on offer with beers from Ossett, Caledonian, Moorhouses, Archers, Naylors, Elland, Bowland, Kelham Island and Copper Dragon to name but a few. One cloud on this silver lining is that while some beers are delivered directly from the brewers under the Society of Independent Brewers Direct Delivery Scheme (SIBA DDS), Enterprise inns take their cut on top of the brewers’ prices, thus adding expense for the customer. This however is not James and Melanies’ fault. The pub recently gained a complimentary mention in the CAMRA “What’s Brewing” monthly newspaper from Des de Moor in his Haworth pub walk article.
James and Melanie say they are happy at the Black Bull, which is good news because hopefully that means they will be staying there for a while yet. We wish them well!
The Crossroads Inn, Cross Roads, Near Keighley
The main factors that have come together to earn The Crossroads Inn an Improved Pub Award from Keighley and Craven CAMRA are the landlord, Chris Marsden, the Copper Dragon brewery and the Crossroads Inn’s loyal customers.
The Crossroads is lucky to have an experienced landlord with a love of real ale and a sound pedigree. Chris comes originally from Spennymoor near Durham having been in the pub trade for ten years. He previously managed two real ale pubs in Lancaster, both pub of the season and pub of the year winners. He then moved back to his native north east to run the Ship Inn, Middlestone Village, which gained a regional pub of the year award. He was in talks with Copper Dragon for 12 months seeking to find a suitable pub before the Crossroads came on the market and Chris moved in last August.
Before Copper Dragon purchased the pub, it was run-down and underused. Enterprise Inns deemed it unviable and had applied to have the pub demolished with a mini-supermarket to be built on the site. The pub was saved from this fate by the locals who fought a strong campaign to prevent change of use which resulted in the application being denied. Consequently Copper Dragon bought the freehold and after extensive refurbishment, from the cellar upwards, the pub re-opened on 15th September 2006. The pub has three or four Copper Dragon beers available with one or two guest ales, recently these have come from Daleside, Elland and Ossett breweries.
Chris hopes to have created a “good village inn”. He sees the Brown Cow in Keighley as “a beacon and a good model to follow”. He is looking for constant improvement and is getting a lot of positive comments in feedback from his customers. Chris is sure that this award will mean as much to his staff, as to himself, since they have all been there from the start and he sees the award as recognition of all their hard work. He feels that it is the ‘people’ that make a pub successful.
The Crossroads has two rooms decorated throughout with photographs, donated by local residents, of Crossroads cum Lees village over the years, and a large function room which is free to hire. Several groups meet in the pub including the local bowling club and members of the K&WVLR and there is a Folk session on the first Monday of the month. Short term plans involve the development of an outside area over the coming weeks for use in the summer, to take advantage of the good weather and be ready for the smoking ban on 1st July. Along with the real ale Chris has two dozen malt whiskies available, recently introduced ‘scrumpy’ cider in bottles and will soon increase his range of bottled ‘World beers’ from 16 to 25. In the longer term he would like to introduce food but not at the expense of the pub’s core value as a village local. The local branch of CAMRA welcomes the belief in the viability of the Crossroads Inn shown by Copper Dragon and by Chris and we look forward to it going from strength to strength in the future. Well done to all concerned!
