Shropshire pub bosses keep it in the family . . . for 100 years
A Shropshire pub has reached a special landmark after being owned and run by the same family for 100 years.
The New Inn, in the village of Hook-a-Gate, near Shrewsbury, is currently run by Debbie Hunter, her partner Martin Davies and his son Tom.
Purchased by Robert Hunter in 1915, the pub has been passed down the generations, firstly to son Denis and then grandson Rod.
Current landlady Debbie said: "I may only be a Hunter through marriage but no-one could respect the history of this pub or love it more.
"What the Hunter family has achieved is so rare and I am as proud to call The New Inn mine today, as I'm sure Robert and Susan Hunter were 100 years ago."
In 1915 Robert and his wife Susan purchased the pub as a licensed beerhouse and smallholding with six acres of land.
The couple had three children, William, Gwendoline and Denis. Robert died in 1952 and his youngest son Denis and wife Joan took over The New Inn.
They had two children, Nigel and Rod.
In 1982 Denis handed over the pub to Rod who installed a catering kitchen and turned a games room into a restaurant, taking the premises into a new era.
Rod passed away in May 2009 after nearly 28 years as landlord; he left the pub to Debbie, his former wife, who had also worked at the pub for 28 years.
Debbie added: "We have been working towards March 25 as Rod was desperate to take it to 100 years. There only used to be two rooms downstairs but it has been added on dramatically over the years. Essentially it is still very traditional though.
"The locals like it as it is. We want to keep the bar very much as a bar. Although we have a big food trade, drinkers are the core of the pub."
