A COUPLE who fell in love with a dale village while renovating a house they planned to sell on have not only decided to stay, but become landlords of the local pub as well.
Builder Paul Hauxwell and his partner Helen Richardson began renovating a property in Ingleton earlier this year, but after meeting other residents and learning how friendly they are, decided to keep the house and relocate from Newton Aycliffe.
Ms Richardson said: “Everyone was just so friendly. When we were finished working {on the house] we would come around to the Black Horse parched and covered in dust. Everyone was just so nice and welcoming.
“Who would have thought that we would move here in March and by October we would be running the pub.”
Mr Hauxwell added: “We bought the house to renovate and the more time we spent in the village here the more we liked it, so we’ve decided we are not going to sell the house we are just going to keep it. The village kind of lured us in.”
Running a pub is something that Mr Hauxwell has always wanted to do, but that was a dream to be fulfilled closer to their retirement.
A remarkable set of coincidences led to them taking over the Black Horse, beginning with a day trip to York where they saw an empty pub advertising for a couple to take up management.
Ms Richardson said: “We rang up more out of curiosity, but the phone call was so quirky and so unusual. He was such a character that it stuck with us.”
They relayed the story to previous Black Horse landlord Anthony Tillbrook.
Ms Richardson said: “He remembered this story we told him six months earlier and said “would you like takeover the pub from me?” , so we did.”
Mr Hauxwell added: “We love the village, we love the people in it, we love the pub, it’s a no-brainer isn’t it.”
They described their first ten days in charge as hectic.
Along with an opening night, they have hosted a live music session, quiz night and a private birthday party.
They have already rung in some changes by adding a gluten free lager and more spirits in the bar.
Bar snacks have also been introduced.
While changes to the menu are being planned by head chef Dan Dutson, the popular pizza choices, baked by a chef from Tuscany, will remain.
