about us
Malcolm and Pat Hawksworth run the Old Crown in Hesket Newmarket. The pub is owned by a co-operative of more than one hundred local people and other supporters.
The co-operative is dedicated to maintaining the essential character of the pub. The Old Crown serves the very best real ales all brewed by the Hesket Newmarket Brewery which stands at the rear of Pub.
Opening Times
Monday to Thursday
Bar - 5.30 p.m. to 11.00 p.m
Evening meals from 6.00pm to 9.00 pm
Friday and Saturday
Bar - 12.00 noon to 2.30p.m. and 5.30 p.m. to 11.00 pm
Meals and snacks available lunch times from 1200 noon to 2.30.
Evening meals from 6.00pm to 9.00 pm
Sundays
Bar - 12.00 noon to 2.30p.m. and 5.30 p.m. to 10.30 pm
Traditional Sunday lunches & snacks available 1200 noon to 2.30 pm and evening meals from 6.00pm to 9.00pm.
Pre- booking for evening meals is strongly recommended – please phone 016974 78288
todays menu
Lunch
Evening
Pub News
Free Community Computer Services
HRH ‘Pub is The Hub’ initiative logs on for another win - Coop owned Old Crown Pub expands free community Computer Services
Recipes from the Roof of The World
Event – Book launch - ‘Recipes from the Roof of The World’
Brewery tour food order form
To help you organise your brewery party you can down load a food order form here. Please call us if you have any queries or if you would like different menus options
CAMRA Pub of The Season Award
The Old Crown has been voted the Pub of the Season by CAMRA - Solway Branch. ------- The final sentence of the announcement from CAMRA reads ------- There can be few pubs anywhere that surpass the Old Crown as a community pub! They even provide free internet access during all open hours. --------- The presentation of the award will take place at The Old Crown on Friday 1st February - all are welcome. -------- Please click for a copy of the CAMRA announcement.
World Food Series goes to France
In February The Old Crown menu celebrated Himalayan food on its first special evening of food from around the World. Our next World food feature will be on Thursday March 20th when we are off to France with a selection of recipes collected by Pat Hawksworth. Click here for menu and details (left click to blow up size ).
Vacancies at the Old Crown
Here is a real career opportunity. Come and help us at the bar as part of the team running The Old Crown, one of the UK's most popular pubs. click here for full list of all vacancies
Pub Quizes at The Old Crown
Pub quizes are a new feature at the Old Crown this spring and summer . On the third Sunday of each month starting at 7.30 pm teams of up to six players compete for cash prizes an a great evening of challenge and fun, all in aid of local good causes. March quiz raised over £140 for the Calbeck Area First Responders. Quizes on May 18th will be in aid of the First Responders and on 15th June in aid of The Childrens playground.
Guy is really Gaan to Ghana
Guy Woodcock, Assistant Manager of The Old Crown will be travelling to Accra in Ghana in July as a volunteer with the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI). He will be involved in a number of activities which the Initiative carries out under its mandate to practically realise human rights in the countries of the commonwealth. These will include; petitioning governments throughout Africa to adopt or change laws which ensure respect for and protection of human rights, monitoring election and court procedures, assessing and encouraging police and prison reform and generally raising the profile of human rights in Ghana and beyond. Guy has already raised £1500 towards the costs of his participation in this worthy endeavour.
Ghanaian Food Night - Thursday 15th May
Please come and join us - have a great night enjoy exciting food and help Guy with his Human Rights Work in Africa. The Old Crown Ghana Food Night on May 15th is a practical way the we can help Guy. All of the proceeds from the food produced on that evening will go towards Guy’s appeal. Do have a look at the attached menu and join us if you can. Phone 016974 78288 to book a table.
Al Murray Show
We had a great time in London in early March when eleven of us represented The Old Crown when it was 'Pub of the Week' on The Al Murray Show. The commemorative picture shows the team - with Al on the set at London studios. Copies of this picture and a dvd of the show are available at the Old Crown.
Pub Information
A unique opportunity to join the team at The Old Crown
A new career opportunity has been created to reflect the growth in both drinks and food sales at The Old Crown – one of the UK’s most popular pubs. We are keen to find the right sort of person who wants to help us carry on the great traditions of hospitality at The Old Crown. Experience is less important that enthusiasm and energy. The prospects are truely open ended for the right candidate. Weekend working is essential. Do you love real ale and real food enough to come and help us make it happen. download the details now.
Book Launch Poster
A book of recipes from Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet collected by Dr Mike Townend
The Old Crown Round
18 miles plus - do it under 20 hours, record is under 4! pick your own route and get acertificate for your troubles !
Take a walk from The Old Crown
A series of walks of ascending duration planned and written especially for the Old Crown by leading guidbook writer Mark Richards,
Old Crown Real Ales Menu
As the Brewery Tap for The Hesket Newmarket Brewery The Old Crown is proud of its reputation for presenting in prime condition, at least 6 real ales, 2 Czech lagers as well as over 20 wines.
Old Crown Gift Vouchers
The Ideal gift for the discerning Real Ale Lover who has everything. Gift Vouchers to be redeemed at The Old Crown. Every voucher is individually created to contain the pictures, words and beer or/& food tokens of your choice. Design and printing is free, the only charge is the face value of beer and food. Download the attached leaflet for more information.
Help spread word about the Old Crown
The great Old Crown Poster challenge. Please help us by displaying our poster. Email us a picture of it in place and we will award a voucher for a pint of Hesket Newmarket Beer to be exchanged when you next visit the Old Crown. We are also offering a gallon of beer for the poster judged by us to be displayed in the best and most unusual location between 1st May and 31st August 2008! Please email your entry photos to malcolm.hawksworth@yahoo.co.uk
Events
Folk music night
1st Sunday of each month.
Northumbrian Pipers Nights
Third Monday in each Month, Led by pipemaker Richard Evans the first half of the evening is dedicated to training and development of the group and after 9.00 pm all other traditional musicians are welcome to join in. See also Richard's web site- www.evansweb.co.uk also - North Cumbria Pipers 6th Bellows Pipes Teaching Day is on Saturday 3rd of November this year, so make a note in your diaries and look at the details on - www.evansweb.co.uk/piperday2007/index.htm . Many of the delegates to this event will be dining (and playing for their own pleasure) at The Old Crown afterwards.
the beer
Great Cockup Porter (A.B.V. 3.3%) Nearly black, with a dark malty flavour and a smooth bitterness. Many would call it a stout.
Blencathra Bitter (A.B.V. 3.2%) A dark ruby traditional bitter, malty throughout with a good lasting bitterness.
Skiddaw Special Bitter (A.B.V. 3.7%) A refreshing session beer with a well-balanced full flavoured palate.
Haystacks ((ABV 3.7%) A refreshing ale for fell wanderers. A pale cloured zesty beer, light palate, late hopped with Pioneer to give a hint of grapefruit.
Helvellyn Gold (A.B.V. 4.0%) Straw coloured, with a hoppy aroma and a pleasant bitterness.
Doris' 90th Birthday ale (A.B.V. 4.3%) A glorious, full flavoured, fruity premium beer. Originally brewed in 1989 to celebrate the 90th Birthday of Liz Fearnley’s mother. Winner of the Best Beer in Festival at the Cumbria Food & Drink Festival at Rheged in May 2004
Scafell Blonde (4.3%). A pale refreshing but substantial bitter, produced from ⅔ Maris Otter PA malt & ⅓ lager malt, with subtle notes of Golding, Northdown and Challenger hops and a refreshing, almost citrus late hop note from Caskade. An introduction to real ale for lager drinkers !
Catbells Pale Ale (A.B.V. 5.0%) This is a refreshing easy to drink pale ale, however, beware it could readily catch you out.
Old Carrock Strong Ale (A.B.V. 6%) A dark red, delicious strong ale, beguilingly smooth and definitely dangerous. A smooth blend of crystal, chocolate and pale ale malts modestly bittered with East Kent Goldings and First Gold hops, then finished with a late addition of Styrian Goldings to give that classic liquid Christmas pudding flavour
We also have special 'seasonal ales' for example, Sharp Edge a deep amber & robustly hopped beer for autumn (4.2%ABV). Autumn Chestnut (A.B.V. 4.7%), and a Strong Spicy Doris Festive Pudding ale (A.B.V. 5.8%).
Brewery Tours
Brewery Tours are available by appointment (minimum 8 persons). The tour includes a meal and the tour and costs £6 or £10 depending on the meal required.
Dine with us on any day of the week in one of our two dining rooms where we have capacity to cater for up to 40 at a single sittting.
We have a wonderful range of home cooked food and an ever changing specials menu. Where ever possible we use locally produced ingredients. Our meats all come from local farms.
Please contact us by email or phone for our latest menus. If you have special dietary needs please let Pat know so that we can accommodate you. For dinner parties of six or more we would be delighted to help you plan your own menu.
the history
'The Old Crown' is a public house in the small village of Hesket Newmarket, situated just inside the northern edge of the Lake District National Park, nestling in the Caldbeck fells. It is the only public house in the village.
Although the pub is believed to date back to the 18th century, our story starts in 1987 when Jim and Liz Fearnley had a dream of running a pub, serving curries and brewing their own beer. They had no experience either of running a pub or of brewing. They bought The Old Crown after a lengthy search. One of the attractions was the barn at the rear, which had its own access and lent itself to being converted into a brewery.
Liz ran the pub while Jim set about starting the brewery. Brewing began in 1988. At first the beers were experimental but soon Jim was producing marketable beers. Later the beers began to win prizes at beer festivals.
Jim and Liz ran both enterprises until 1995 when Liz sold the pub. Jim continued running the brewery until 1999 when he decided he wanted to retire. Villagers were worried the brewery might be swallowed up by a large brewer or close down. To stop that happening, 58 villagers and supporters got together and formed a co-operative to buy the brewery. Hesket Newmarket Brewery is today a thriving microbrewery that is going from strength to strength, selling its famous beers such as Skiddaw Special and Doris’ 90th birthday Ale.
Meanwhile Robert Robson, the owner of the pub, had sold on The Old Crown to Kim and Lyn Matthews. In April 2001 Lyn tragically died, leaving Kim to run the pub single-handed. After soldiering on for a while, Kim decided to sell up, and placed the pub on the market. Yet again, fears arose among locals and lovers of the pub that it might fall into the hands of a major brewery or pub chain or that new owners of the pub might be persuaded to remove the Hesket Newmarket Brewery beers and accept a franchise from a major brewer. In November 2002 a shareholder in the Brewery floated the idea of forming a second co-operative to buy the pub. The hope was that this would safeguard the pub and its unique character, and secure its future both as a vital amenity for the village and wider community, and as a special asset within the Lake District National Park. Not least, the aim was to safeguard the link between The Old Crown and Hesket Newmarket Brewery, so that regular visitors could sleep sound in the knowledge that their favourite pint would still be waiting for them whenever they called in.
We did it! Shareholders celebrate the achievement of their goal at the 'official opening' of The Old Crown under its new co-operative ownership.
125 customers of the pub eventually clubbed together to buy the pub. The Co-operative was officially registered as a community industrial and provident society in March 2003, and the purchase was completed on 21 August that year. The Old Crown is believed to be Britain’s first co-operatively owned pub.
Having bought the pub, the Co-operative then had to find someone to run it. on 22 September 2003 the new licensees, Lou and Linda Hogg, moved in.
On December 1st 2006 The Old Crown acquired new tenants: Malcolm & Pat Hawksworth.
Pat and Malcolm moved up from Staffordshire, but already had many links with the Hesket Newmarket area and knew The Old Crown well. Pat is a renowned cook, and both she and Malcolm have previous experience in running a pub. Malcolm also has experience in managing the Bass Museum (1989 to 1994) and working in civic promotion and the wider leisure industry. They are both very keen to promote the co-operative ideals and to cement the close ties with Hesket Newmarket Brewery, another co-operatively owned business in the village.
Says Malcolm: “Pat and I are really delighted to have been chosen to be the custodians of The Old Crown. We are acutely aware of the pub’s unique status both in the local community and nationally as a beacon to remind everyone what a proper village pub should be like.
We were also very impressed by the way in which the co-operative, through its committee, conducted the selection process; they had a clear idea of what they were looking for, and gave us a real grilling!
For us the challenge now begins. The proof of the pudding will be quite literally in the eating. The award-winning beers brewed by our sister co-operative – Hesket Newmarket Brewery – will continue to be our main crowd-puller. However, Pat intends to deliver a new and wider range of home cooking in the new Garden Room restaurant at the Old Crown.
Bookings came in well for Christmas and New Year meals and Pat would now particularly like to meet groups of 8 or more who want to plan special dinner menus.
Julian Ross, chairman of the co-operative’s management committee, said: “When Lou and Linda decided it was time to move on, we faced a mammoth task in trying to find the right people to take over as tenants. This is a very special pub and village, and therefore needs special people. We think we've found them in Malcolm and Pat. They have an excellent track record, fully support our co-operative ideals and are bursting with ideas for the future. We think there are exciting times ahead!"
The Old Crown is living proof of the success of the co-operative model. The pub co-operative is on a sound financial footing, and has recently financed the building of a new kitchen and dining room.
The co-operative ownership of this important resource demonstrates the strong sense of community spirit in this small Cumbrian village. The co-operative is based on democratic and voluntary principles, with members contributing on an equal basis to the capital of the enterprise and actively participating in policy formulation. The members of the co-operative strongly believe that ventures of this nature contribute to the economy and social fabric of Cumbria, securing local employment and fostering pride in the community.
The purchase was helped by grant funding from Cumbria County Council Rural Regeneration Fund and the Lake District National Park Sustainable Development Fund.
The Campaign For Real Ale – which has featured the pub many times in its Good Beer Guide - also welcomed the buyout. Good Beer Guide editor Roger Protz said: “With the growth of pub chains and global breweries, pubs are losing their community role, so I welcome the efforts to keep this classic pub rooted in its community.”
Julian Ross, who led the bid by customers to take ownership of the pub, says: “People say they don’t care about making a return on their investment. They want to preserve something that is important for the community. This is a cosy, friendly pub, which you can go into whether you’re wearing your wellies, walking boots, or a suit, and you won’t come out without speaking to someone. Regulars and visitors alike always find a warm welcome, great home cooked food (including the famous Old Crown curries), a friendly smile and a truly superb range of real ales.”
royal visit
Stop press – HRH The Prince of Wales visited Hesket Newmarket for the second time on February 5th. He toured The Old Crown Pub, The Hesket Brewery,The Fellside Stores and enjoyed a walkabout the village when he met vllagers in a relaxed and informal manner.
HRH then returned to The Old Crown where he amused the gathered press mob by chosing a pint of 'Great Cockup' porter and fairly and squarely won game of darts.
A collection of over 200 photographs of the visit is available free of charge. Just send a blank CD and a stamped addressed envelope to the Old Crown Hesket Newmarket, CA7 8JG.
Prince Charles had heard about our little venture from The Pub is the Hub, an organisation he launched in 2001 which promotes the importance of pubs in rural communities. The Pub is the Hub have compiled a booklet entitled ‘Saving your Village Pub’ as a guide to other villages wanting to acquire ownership of their pub. The Old Crown is one of the two case studies in the booklet, which was ‘launched’ by Prince Charles during his visit. HRH made a speech in which he expressed his admiration and delight at what we had all achieved together. He then unveiled a plaque before being whisked away in a shiny black Mercedes. Whilst in the - very crowded - pub, Prince Charles was treated (he doesn’t carry any cash!) to a glass of Doris’ 90th, which judging from the photos went down very well.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||
 |
|||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||
|
|||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
||||||
|
|||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
||||||
Click on a thumbnail above to view fullsize.
Click here to view archive. 
Photographs on this web site are the Copyright of Julian Ross and must not be used without permission.
we can be found in...
|
|
|
|
location
The Old Crown is in the village of Hesket Newmarket, a Cumbrian fellside village roughly halfway between Keswick and Carlisle.
Find us by downloading a map.
By car from the M6
Junction 41, towards Wigton on B5305.
After approx 6 miles follow signs (left) for Millhouse and Hesket Newmarket
By car from Carlisle
B5299 towards Dalston.
Through Dalston then Welton towards Caldbeck
In Caldbeck follow signs for Hesket Newmarket
By car from Wigton
To Red Dial on the A595
Cross the A595 towards Westward
At the crossroads with the B5299 straight on into Caldbeck and follow signs for Hesket Newmarket
By foot from anywhere
There are a number of footpaths that serve the area. OS Landranger sheet 90 has the detail.
The Old Crown
Hesket Newmarket
Cumbria
016974 78288
Email to malcolm.hawksworth@yahoo.co.uk
associates
Site designed and maintained by 
Lake District National Park Authority 
The Cumbria County Council 
Denton House Guesthouse
Hesket Newmarket Cumbria
016974 78415
Howbeck Lodge
Hesket Newmarket, Wigton,
Cumbria, CA7 8JN
016974 78206
The Temperance Hall
Hesket Newmarket, Wigton
Cumbria, CA7 8JG 
John Stevenson of Browtop Farm
Hutton Roof, Penrith
Cumbria, CA11 0XS
017684 84237
