The pub saved by its ‘Hanging Gardens of Harrogate’
Determined to stay afloat, one North Yorks local is emerging from lockdown in style, says Joe Shute
On a typical sunny weekend such as this, John Nelson, the landlord of the Coach and Horses in Harrogate, might expect to take up to £10,000 behind the bar.
The 19th-century pub that overlooks the famous 200-acre parkland called The Stray is a much-loved watering hole in the North Yorkshire spa town, and Nelson, who has been landlord for 33 years, has steered the business through numerous reinventions. But none quite like this.
When the pub reopens its doors this weekend, for the first time since lockdown was announced 10 weeks ago, the beer taps will have been replaced by begonias and the pork scratchings by pansies.
For ‘The Coach’, as it is known to its regulars, has been transformed into a garden centre. Nelson, 64, says in a few weeks’ time, it will resemble “the hanging gardens of Harrogate”.
He is at pains to point out that the change is temporary – at least until the Government indicates he can reopen as a proper boozer again. But until then, he and his staff (safely ensconced behind Perspex screens which have been erected around the dark wood and brass bar) will be serving up plants, not pints.
“We occupy this prime town-centre position and we wanted to do something with it,” says John, whose father first took tenancy of the pub in 1984 before he took over and bought the freehold in 1996. “This pub first opened in 1864 and stayed open during the two world wars and the Spanish Flu pandemic, and every day since, save a few small periods of refurbishment. It has been such a shame to see it closed.”
While the lockdown introduced to curtail the coronavirus outbreak has crippled much of Britain’s economy, the hospitality industry – and, in particular, the pub trade – has been hit especially hard. Earlier this month, the British Beer and Pub Association released a survey it had conducted among its members which claimed 19,000 out of the country’s 47,000 pubs may be forced to shut their doors for good within a matter of months without extra support from the Government.
Should such mass closures occur, the report claimed, it could cost up to 320,000 jobs and tear the heart out of
A new survey suggests that 19,000 pubs across Britain may now be forced to shut
many towns and villages. In recent days, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that the lockdown is to be gradually eased.
Schools are to begin opening from tomorrow, and, in the middle of the month, non-essential shops and other businesses will follow suit. Department stores such as John Lewis and Selfridges are all announcing their plans. But the hospitality industry remains in deep freeze, expected to be one of the very last parts of the economy to be permitted to resume, due to the difficulty of maintaining any distance when jostling elbow-to-elbow at the bar – particularly when alcohol is involved.
To remain viable in the interim, publicans are having to be creative. Some have turned into temporary off-licences, while others have organised home deliveries of food.
Adam and Sue Franklin, the owners of the Horse and Jockey in Melling, Merseyside, have turned the pub into a community kitchen and food bank, delivering meals to vulnerable people self-isolating in the community.
Similarly, Lee Hughes, the landlord
of the Red Hackle in Jarrow, South Tyneside, is also now preparing 100 meals a day for vulnerable residents, which are delivered by bicycle.
The Telegraph told the story last week of the Fox Inn in Denchworth, near Wantage in Oxfordshire, whose landlord was administering a weight loss scheme for people in the village during lockdown.
Elsewhere, regulars are pitching in to keep their pubs afloat.
A group of 20 drinkers at The Windmill in Chipperfield, Hemel Hempstead, have even repainted the pub free of charge during lockdown for when it reopens.
Back in Harrogate, when lockdown was announced John Nelson was forced to furlough his 15 staff, the majority of whom work part-time. He has also been permitted a £50,000 ‘bounce-back loan’ to help cover his costs.
He came up with the idea for the new lockdown business venture as one of the charities the pub supports is Horticap, which operates a garden centre and nursery on the edge of Harrogate, staffed by people of all ages with learning disabilities and other disabilities. The plants are being supplied by Horticap, although the pub staff rather than the charity’s volunteers will be selling them.
John says all his staff have offered their services for free to help support the community venture.
Sadly, no alcoholic drinks are available, but tea and coffee will be served, with all proceeds from the plants – and refreshments – going to the charity.
The celebrity gardener and erstwhile Telegraph columnist Alan Titchmarsh is a patron of Horticap and welcomed the support for the charity, saying: “The work they do is hugely valuable not only to those who participate, but also to the local community who benefit from their growing skills and their ability to beautify the local surroundings. Harrogate is so lucky to have Horticap on its doorstep.”
John Nelson admits he is severely lacking in horticultural knowledge.
Detailing the plants on offer, he manages aspidistras and violets before trailing off.
Fortunately, his 30-year-old daughter, Sam, will be managing the garden centre to ensure all works smoothly. “We look forward to raising as much money as possible for them,” John says.
Customers will be invited to queue up outside and then come in to browse, buy plants in person, or make online orders from Horticap’s main centre which will then be delivered.
The plants are being deliberately kept to a manageable amount and constantly restocked in order to create enough space so browsers can keep two metres apart.
For that reason, John is calling the pop-up garden centre ‘The EverChanging Display’.
“We have designed a system that keeps our staff and customers safe,” John says. “That is our priority, and we would not proceed unless we could.”
Admittedly, the floral displays on offer at the revamped Coach and Horses will not quite rival the Royal Horticultural Society’s famous Harlow Carr, which is a mile or so away and renowned for its spectacular flower shows. But after his enforced hiatus from behind the bar where he has worked for the past four decades, John admits he is looking forward to a change of direction – albeit a temporary one.
One of the worst parts of lockdown, he says, has been seeing the pub stand empty – even if he has appreciated the lack of drunken people staggering around Harrogate’s charming town centre after hours.
Places like the Coach and Horses were built for people to congregate. John’s takings may be non-existent this weekend, but he admits it will be lovely just to see life back in the old pub again.
‘This pub survived during two world wars and the Spanish Flu. It has been a shame to see it closed’