Tunstead local reopens under old name with pledge to be a ‘drinking pub’ again
The Horse and Groom pub, Tunstead. Left to right, directors Gilly Foulds and Pat Simpson with manager Faye Chaloner. Picture : ANTONY KELLY - Credit: copyright ARCHANT 2017
Drinkers are celebrating after their north Norfolk local reopened under its old name, with the owner promising to make it a 'drinking pub' again.
The Horse and Groom pub, Tunstead. Picture : ANTONY KELLY - Credit: copyright ARCHANT 2017
The Horse and Groom in Tunstead, near North Walsham, has been taken over by Gilly Foulds, who changed its name from the Olive Branch back to its former name, the Horse and Groom.
The Market Street pub was being run as more of a bar and restaurant than a watering hole and closed about nine months ago.
She has spent an undisclosed amount of money turning the French-influenced eatery back into a traditional pub.
She said: 'It needed to be a drinking pub again, a village pub, a meeting place and a hub for the village.
'When we opened there was a gentleman waiting at the door at 10.45am as he wanted to be the first one back into the Horse and Groom having been the last to leave when it closed before becoming the Olive Branch. I only know his name as Brian and he was very excited.
'I think it was known as the Olive Branch from about 2009 until it closed last year, but before that it was always the Horse and Groom.
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'I live in Tunstead and, without a pub, there was not a focal point for the village. I did not want it to be turned into holiday lets and houses.'
The pub is serving a couple of real ales and the owner has been working with Lacons in Great Yarmouth.
She added: 'We are trying to get all the beer from East Anglia. We will have Adnams Ghost Ship and a guest beer. The menu will be pub food. The manageress is Faye Chaloner and we've got four full-time and about six part-time staff.'
She has a background in farming and three decades ago ran the Thread Needle haberdashery and craft shop in Stalham, which many people might remember.
The pub has undergone some structural work and the bar has been put back to its old position.
In the future she hopes to turn the small cottage attached to the building into a village shop selling essentials.
She added: 'That's an ongoing project and there will also be a cafe. We will be getting support from the Pub is the Hub charity for that.'
The pub dates back to the 18C and is a former farmhouse.
Have you got a pub story? Email david.bale2@archant.co.uk
