Cheers! Flood-hit pub opens up

A popular Hebden Bridge pub has reopened six months after being battered by the Boxing Day floods.
Stubbing Wharf, Hebden Bridge opens after the floods.  Matt Browne.Stubbing Wharf, Hebden Bridge opens after the floods.  Matt Browne.
Stubbing Wharf, Hebden Bridge opens after the floods. Matt Browne.

The Stubbing Wharf, at King Street, was submerged under water when unprecedented levels of rain fell on the upper Calder Valley.

But following an intense refurbishment of the premises after an estimated £120,000 worth of damage was caused, the pub threw its doors open once again last week.

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Licensee Matt Browne, who runs Stubbing Wharf with his girlfriend Sally Foster, spoke of the moment flood water began to pour into the pub.

“We were faced with disaster, it was just coming in really, really fast,” Mr Browne said. “It was more shock than anything else, we had to cancel all the Boxing Day bookings and barricade the door to prevent it from coming any further in.

“In the end we just decided to turn the electricity off and we went upstairs. All we could do was watch it.

“We were sitting there that night as it kept on coming.”

The cellar was completely submerged, a wall fell down and much of the equipment inside the pub was damaged.

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Despite the damage, the floods have marked a new lease of life for the pub, which reopened last Saturday.

Mr Browne added: “We have had a complete refurbishment and that’s the silver lining - it looks really nice. The designers have done a brilliant job.

“It has kept its country pub character. It’s great to be opening again and it has given it a new lease of life.

“We are all really excited to make a go of it and we have taken the opportunity to give a few areas that probably needed improving a lift.”

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As part of the work to repair the damage, some of which was covered by insurance, flood resilience measures have been put in place to minimise the damage should history repeat itself.

For more information, visit www.stubbingwharf.com.