News Archives

At the end of 2011 the Old Inn in Holt near Wimborne, received an internal refurbishment which has seen this historic pub being modernised without compromising any traditional features inside. Jonathan Clutterbuck and Gabrielle Levene are Hall & Woodhouse’s new Business Partners in the Old Inn. They have taken over this destination country inn, and have already made some fantastic changes.

“We are delighted to be running the Old Inn in Holt, the refurbishment has been wonderfully received. We have also put together a new menu, where all of the meals are prepared freshly in our kitchen and where we only use locally sourced ingredients, with our meat coming from both Mato’s in Blandford and Honey Brook Farm.” Jonathan explains.

Jonathan and Gabrielle have some big plans for the Old Inn over the next year, they plan to make much more use of the garden at the back of the pub, as well as becoming a focal point for the local villages around the pub. They are already planning a Tea Party and Hog Roast to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee.

“We are pleased to welcome Jonathan and Gabrielle to the Old Inn in Holt. This traditional public house has such potential to be the heart of the local village. Already they have reinstated a quiz night, updated the food offer and fully marketed the internal refurbishment. We wish them every success in the future and look forward to supporting them on their journey.” Matt Kearsey, Hall & Woodhouse Business Partnerships Director.
 

Hall & Woodhouse are delighted to announce that they are through to final three of the Publican’s Best Tenanted/ Lease Pub Company. The category is split into two parts – Hall & Woodhouse are in the section that deals with companies with less than 199 sites.

There are two other finalists, one of which is MuMullen, but it is not clear who the last place was won by. The next stage is judged by Rob Willcock; who is Group Editor for the Publican’s Morning Advertiser, he is visiting the brewery in order to interview Matt and some of the team we well as visiting at least four Business Partnership houses.

The winner will be announced on March 27th at Grosvenor House in London, the event promises to be an exciting one, with comedian Jimmy Carr hosting it. So, keep your fingers crossed!

The Sunday before Christmas something magical happened in Kirdford! Hall & Woodhouse public house The Foresters Arms held a wonderful Nativity play.

The nativity was organised by the pub landlord and some of his loyal customers. The Cast was formed from regular customers and staff from the The Foresters Arms, Kirdford.
To start the evening a procession was held where Joseph and Mary were followed by Shepherds, a pantomime donkey and cow, as they made their way to The Foresters Arms. There were magnificent angels, the three wise men and of course the baby Jesus.

As the festivities drew to a close, the cast and audience sung carols with the show finishing with the Jitter bug boogie and a rendition of “always look on the bright side of life”

Throughout the evening a collection was made for Macmillan cancer relief, in total £300 was raised .
 

Di Bradley, who is our Business Partner at the Nightjar had a real treat when Noel Edmonds created her a new kitchen as part of ‘Noel’s Christmas Presents’. The programme aired on Sunday evening, and viewers were able to see Di’s Christmas surprise.

We are delighted that Di was treated to this wonderful surprise, she has worked really hard to make the Nightjar the focal point of the local community. Di began as the cleaner at the Nightjar, but took over running the pub in 2003. In her time she has enabled the local library to be in the pub, she has held coffee mornings for the Citizen Advice Bureau, she has held adult learning classes including IT skills, and she has even had the local vicar in to host his Sunday service.
 

The 5th of November 2011 was the 50th anniversary of the Badger Chase Race at Wincanton race course, and what an event it turned out to be. Hall and Woodhouse had arranged for an exclusive Badger marquee to be set up for the day at the race course.

Around 200 people signed up for the fantastic package, this number was made up of Business Partners and their loyal customers. As well as access to the Badger marquee with TV’s and bar, the guests received entry to the premier enclosure where they could watch the horses in the parade ring. They were treated to a two course meal, a free pint of Badger Ale, as well as a betting voucher and a free race card. The sun even came out for the special day which made the atmosphere even better.
 

There were a total of seven races on the day with the Badger trophy being the most saught after prize, with 14 horses taking part and Channel 4 capturing every second of the race. It was a very close race which caused the crowd to be jumping and shouting in the stands as the intensity became unbearable to whether their choice of horse had paid off. After his superb finish last year Mark Woodhouse’s horse, number 12, Meanus Dandy came a very tight second, which we are sure Mark is very proud of.