Little Pub Company
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Little Pub Company was a small chain of distinctive pubs in and around the Black Country region of the United Kingdom.
Founded by Colm O'Rourke (managing director), Arthur Baker (finance director) and a third friend, The Little Pub Company Limited developed from nothing to a chain of 21 local tenanted and managed freehold public houses. It was registered at Companies House as company number 01964066 in England and Wales on November 25, 1985.
On May 13, 1998 the company was acquired by Ushers of Trowbridge for £6.5 million. The chain was broken up when Ushers closed in 2000 although some of the pubs were continued under the themes established by the Little Pub Company.
The chain was given a fictional history, which claimed that it was founded by a character named M.A.D. O'Rourke, who had supplied pies to the army during the Crimean War. One of the pubs, The Little Lark, ran a newspaper with the motto "First with the lies". The Lark was on sale in all the Little Pubs, as they were known.
The first pub in the chain was The Little Pack Horse at Bewdley. Most of the pubs, in keeping with the fictional founder, had something of an Irish theme. In addition, each had its own distinctive features. The Little Dry Dock used a canal barge as its bar, The Pie Factory served a broader selection of pies than the others in the group, and most had implements associated with the pub's title hanging from the walls or ceiling. They had a dedicated following of patrons who enjoyed the atmosphere and ales, not least the trademark Lumphammer Ale.
Inspired by Bruce's Brewery, the chain encouraged strong identification with its customers and offered collectible sets of memorabilia such as drinks mats or goblets, one from each pub, with an additional complementary item available to those that collect a stamp from each of the pubs. There were organised tours of the pubs, some of which attempted to fit every one into a single day.
Although the chain appeared to be appealing to a heritage market, it was doing so by creating an evocation of the past and offended some parties by destroying the local history of some of the pubs that it relaunched. In 1996, when it converted the Swan Inn at Coombe Hill, Gloucestershire into a French theme pub, the Rene Descartes Vineyard, the refurbishment included obliterating the old ‘West Country Ales’ sign with white paint. After the closure of Ushers in 2000 the new landlord had the old sign restored. In 1997, when the company bought the Lower George Hotel from Banks's and changed the name to Mad O'Roukes it defaced the Victorian stone lettering above the pub to read "Low or Hot" until Gloucester City Council planning department insisted that the lettering be restored.
[edit] Pubs in the chain
- The Little Pack Horse, Bewdley
- The Little Dry Dock, Netherton
- The Little Lark, Studley
- The Pie Factory, Tipton
- Rene Descartes Vineyard, Coombes Hill (formerly The Swan Inn)
- The Little Upton Muggery, Upton-upon-Severn
- Mad O'Rourke's, Gloucester (formerly The Lower George Hotel)
- The Sausage and Porter, Cradley Heath
- Mad O'Rourke's Kipper House, Willenhall
- The Little Tumbling Sailor, Kidderminster
- Mad Yoricks', Coventry
The chain has now been disbanded. Only the Pie Factory in Tipton is doing what is used to, but with little flair or enthusiasm. The Little Lark, Studley, retains much of the character and the original menu, including "Santa Pies" during December, as does the Little Packhorse in Bewdley, keeping much of the old menu and feel despite recent refurbishment.
