A PUB which was hugely popular 40 years ago has been given a new lease of life.
The Cross Keys, at Eppleby, is a similar distance from Barnard Castle, Darlington and Richmond, and attracted custom from all three towns in its heyday.
A gradual decline culminated in what threatened to be permanent closure when the first Covid lockdown struck in 2020, but the pub has been rescued by parish council chairman Anthony Allum.
He has spent a year transforming the rundown property which reopened last week – with the pub’s former chef, John Shotton, and his partner, Catherine Edmondson, providing meals.
Mr Allum, 48, has spent his whole life in Eppleby and this is his second venture in village life after turning what was once the second pub, the Travellers Rest, into a shop and tearoom nine years
ago.
He has run his own cladding and roofing business for 25 years and said: “I’ve always been interested in doing up properties and this was the next level. We’ve given it a new roof, flooring, electrics and plumbing.
“I’m a big believer in community and would have been gutted if the pub had closed down. I believe a village should have a pub, a shop and a school.”
The original shop closed about a decade ago and the primary school was saved when it joined with Middleton Tyas Primary School.
He added: “I’m also a family man and have had a lot of help in the rebuilding work from my brother Andrew,
who lives nearby, son Bradley and my wife, Mel, and
friends.
“Mel will help in the pub if she has time to spare from running the shop and we can also call on Bradley and our daughter, Jodine.
“There will initially be two hand-pulled beers, Doom Bar and White Boar.”
Ms Edmondson added: “We are going for traditional, home-cooked food at competitive prices. It will all be freshly cooked.”
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
