NEW landlords in Diggle are keeping it in the family after taking over a historic Saddleworth pub thanks to funding from The Royal Bank of Scotland.
Husband and wife Stephen and Lynn Shaw along with Lynn’s brother, chef James Mellor, have acquired The Diggle Hotel which they will run with their extended family.
Their son Matthew joins them as kitchen assistant and cellar manager while his girlfriend Becca Avery is bar manageress and James’ partner Rhia Page is wine advisor.
Dating back to the early 16th century and the reign of King Henry VIII, the country pub with traditional features offers a comfortable bar and dining area.
Outside customers can relax in the beer garden and there is also a children’s play centre and a wealth of parking space.
And there are four bedrooms available for guests wising to take advantage of the bed and breakfast option.
New landlady Lynn said: “We are really pleased we have been able to acquire this historic venue and are looking forward to settling in and meeting our new customers.
“Stephen and I have both worked in the licensing industry and also successfully ran a community pub for over eleven years so we are well experienced in the business.
“My brother James is also a chef at a popular Manchester restaurant and will be working here full time along with local chef Jamie Brown, to introduce new menus.”
She continued: “The Diggle Hotel is very popular and we hope to continue to build on this and attract more customers.
“While we don’t have any plans for major renovations we will be redecorating and refreshing the building.
“In time we also hope to modernise the bedrooms and make other minor improvements as we go along.”
RBS has supported the family’s acquisition of the business with an undisclosed loan.
Lynn added: “The support we have received from Steve Cooper at RBS throughout has been excellent and I’d like to thank him for working with us to secure the deal.”
Steve Cooper, Relationship Manager at RBS, said: “Lynn, Stephen and James are well experienced in the industry and I am pleased we have been able to support them with this venture.
“The Diggle Hotel is an excellent venue and the team will no doubt make it a great success.”
And by a coincidence I am researching the family that lived there at the beginning of the 20th century which was featured on my blog today, Mrs Sykes, her son in the 6th Manchester’s and the Diggle Hotel ……. part 1 a picture postcard, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/mrs-sykes-of-diggle-her-son-in-6th.html?spref=fb
This was original a beer house that was established in the 1840s by my 4x G Grandparents John Fisher and Susannah Gill to provide end of day refreshments for the workers building the railway through the Standedge Tunnel. I visited it this last summer and the current owner (not the people in this article) told me that there had never been such a place…. sad that they don’t care to know the history of their own property.
BTW it was originally called the The Tunnel End Tavern