Bridgnorth man celebrates 60-year career as pub licensee
Mr Williams was at the Shropshire watering hole until 1979; working with his wife, who cooked meals for customers, and various members of his family helping out too."Generally, I was doing the front of the house and she was doing the cooking," he said of the set-up throughout his time in the trade, "but a few years ago she had to have a triple heart bypass and I had to take over in the kitchen which I really quite enjoyed."
What were pub prices like in 1965?
A pint of beer in 1965 would cost you about 2 shillings and 4 pence in pre-decimal money, where each shilling was 12 pence. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) in 2024 had the average cost of a pint as £4.74. Twenty cigarettes would set you back four shillings and seven pence in pre-decimal cash, or 55 old pence. An average pack of 20 in 2024, according to the ONS, was £16.48.Smiths crisps would set you back six pence a pack in old money in 1965, while a can of Pepsi Cola would cost about 10 pence.
Over the years, Mr Williams was licensee of various other venues - they included a wine bar in Shrewsbury which began with the name Just Williams, and the former Pengwern Hotel in Shrewsbury.He now operates the Halfway House Inn in Bridgnorth, and has so for more than 25 years."In this business you have to keep reinventing yourself," he told the BBC."We started off with food being the main part of The White Horse, and then when we moved it was wine with the wine bar… and then when we had the Pengwern we built up the hotel from nothing."Despite being in the business for six decades, he said he had not let it take over his life.He played rugby in the early days, and then became an RFU referee. Since moving to Bridgnorth he has been an Eardington parish councillor for more than two decades.
This year marks not only 60 years in the trade, it also brought his 65th wedding anniversary.Mr Williams has partially retired, handing over day-to-day responsibilities at the Halfway House to his son, Matt, who was six months old when they took over their first pub."For me to be able to really retire, or nearly retire, it was essential that Matthew came to help," he said.The family plan to eventually sell the site.Looking back, Mr Williams said: "It means a lot, I've enjoyed it."
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