Crowning glory for village
Last updated 13:32, Thursday, 14 August 2008
AFTER standing empty for nearly a decade, villagers in Catton recently celebrated the reopening of their beloved village pub, The Crown.
Constant campaigning and letters of objection prevented the pub from being turned into a permanent family home by its former owner.
And a special team was even formed - Save The Crown Action Group - who rallied for the pub to be reopened as a business.
Now almost two months down the line, owner Jim Hick is delighted with the way things are going.
“We have had an excellent stream of trade even despite the poor weather so far this summer. The food especially has been going down very well.”
Jim and his team have resurrected the pub, gutting and re-fitting the interior and smartening up the outside areas too.
With this new venture the Hicks are expanding their business empire, selling their trademark real ales fresh from the Allendale Brewing Company.
The result is that the pub is once again a popular venue with both locals and real ale enthusiasts.
The Tyneside and Northumberland Campaign for Real Ale group will be visiting this weekend to sample the on-draught delights The Crown has to offer.
While it predominantly stocks real ales from its own micro-brewery, The Crown also offers one guest ale each week from another of the local breweries.
So far the selection has included Rivet Catcher from Jarrow and a High House Brewery ale - Matfen Magic.
The pub serves one Pilsner style Czech product, but otherwise the pub is a lager and chain-produce free premises.
As far as entertainment goes, the pub will be hosting monthly quizzes starting in September as well as a quoits pitch and dart board open to all.
Patrons are invited to partake in some friendly competition during the autumn and winter months such as dominos and Scrabble and themed evenings will be offered during the dark wintry nights.
Jim is hoping to install a local stand up comedy night as well as opportunities to showcase local small scale folk groups.
The local Lions club has been using it as a venue for some of their meetings and the Hicks are keen to encourage other community groups to use the pub as a meeting place.
Owner Jim said: “The Crown is not just a place where people can come to eat and drink, it’s about creating a meeting point for the community and giving a helping hand towards nurturing a good community spirit in the village.”
Local walkers and tourists will be keen to learn the pub now has a chef on board cooking homemade meals using locally sourced products where possible.
Currently the pub offers soup and sandwiches during weekday evenings with meals served on Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday lunches.
Homemade specials have so far included slow roasted Shropshire lamb shank from Herding Hill and beef from the Angus herd at Catton’s Churchlands Farm
Organic vegetables are coming in from Dilston College while other dishes such as homemade chicken liver pate with red wine and bacon are being produced by local culinary talents.
Jim said: “We are not trying to meet the needs of everybody but we are meeting those of real ale drinkers and fresh local food lovers with home cooked food created with flair.”
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