Courtesy: Cumbria Crack | News Source: cumbriacrack.com

A popular village pub is re-opening after being taken over by the team building a multi-million pound country hotel.

The Queen at Great Corby will start serving again in December after the lease was taken on by experienced restaurant owners Robert and Sylvia Cowan and business partners David and Roweena Corkill.

The four are currently re-building the Golden Fleece at Ruleholme, near Brampton, after demolishing the existing building earlier in the year. That property, with 23 bedrooms, two restaurants, lounge bar, a function room and conference facilities, is set to open in spring 2021.

But the team are keen to be operating in the hospitality trade while overseeing the build and have now taken on the lease at The Queen, which closed in the summer.

Internal decoration and re-branding are now under way with the pub set to re-open for the Christmas period with a seasonal menu.

David and Roweena Corkill and Robert and Sylvia Cowan inside The Queen

Robert has recruited a chef and is now looking for other staff, including an experienced restaurant manager, to come on board with the project.

He said: “This is such a lovely country inn, set in the middle of a picturesque village. It is just crying out for someone to come in and give it a bit of attention.

“We weren’t necessarily looking to take on other premises, but this was too good an opportunity to miss. We’ve done our homework and we’re convinced we can provide the right combination that will bring back the locals and re-establish The Queen as a great place to dine and relax.”

Renovation work is expected to see one, larger dining room created upstairs with 50-covers. A more informal pub dining experience will be served downstairs.

The pub sits alongside the green and belongs to the Corby Castle Estate. Its new leaseholders are looking to support the village‘s own Cumberland Breweries and will also look at re-instating some of the pub’s popular features such as quiz nights.

David added: “We feel a pub like this is a real community asset. We’d like to see it being used for all types of functions both large and small.”

Tim Hughes, head brewer at Cumberland Breweries which is based across from the pub in Great Corby, said: “It will be great to have the village pub open again and we’re delighted that we’ll have a range of our beers on sale there.”