Much of what has appeared on this site and its predecessor has vanished forever. From August 2002, these pages are an essentially complete record of the pub and brewery news, arranged in chronological order. (“Essentially complete” means “those things that came to our attention which have not since fallen prey to computer malfunction“) Before then, there is a patchy and incomplete record of pub news, culled from a variety of sources. Note that in a number of cases news items were published in good faith which subsequently turned out to be not entirely true. No attempt has been made to retrospectively hide our errors.
6 January
The Inn at Wray (Wray) is being converted into housing..
10 January
The Butcher n Tonic (Lancaster) ..
23 January
The Royal Oak (Hornby) has been sold, to whom and for what as yet unknown..
The Royal Oak (Hornby) ..
I hear that the Victoria (Glasson Dock) is again for sale..
1 February
The Stonewell Tavern (Lancaster) has the builders in..
4 February
The 75 Church Street (Lancaster) ..
12 February
The Bath (Morecambe) is closed and to let..
The Sphere Bar. (Lancaster) now has real ale..
13 February
The Blue Anchor (Bolton-le-Sands) is to reopen 10 March..
The Snug (Carnforth) is to reopen 23 February..
The Station (Ribblehead) ..
The Station (Morecambe) has had a refurb..
24 February
The Snug (Carnforth) has reopened..
The Three Mariners (Lancaster) now has eleven cask ales..
15 March
Change of licensee at:- New Inn (Galgate)
The Blue Anchor (Bolton-le-Sands) is to reopen on 16 March..
There is an application for a new micro pub called Crossing ( Hest Bank ) ...
The Yorkshire Taps (Lancaster) has been renamed "Yorkshire Taps" without any other apparent change..
18 March
Cross-Bay: have opened a bar in their White Lund premises, called the “Brew House”. Pictures at the opening
4 April
The New Inn (Galgate) has reopened..
The Ship (Caton) is closed until further notice..
Stephen Hunt wants to sell the Golden Ball (Snatchems) for £1.5m..
11 April
A cafe bar has opened called Journey Social (Lancaster) . They say they may get real ale..
20 April
There is an application for a new pub called Herbarium Bar (Lancaster) - in the old shooting and fishing shop on Great John Street ..
The Ship (Caton) has reopened..
The Stonewell Tap (Lancaster) has been renamed "Stonewell Tap"..
7 May
The Slice of Siclly. (Claughton-on-Brock) is closed and all signs taken down, they are building a new housing estate there and the notices mention a proposed pub/restaurant..
8 May
The Eagle & Child (Garstang) has regained real ale (Theakstons). Still to let..
The Park (Morecambe) has reopened its public bar with two handpumps. More details appreciated..
14 May
Change of licensee at:- Herbarium Bar (Lancaster)
24 May
The Herbarium Bar (Lancaster) is open, a vegan cafe rather than a pub, but it does have bottles..
11 June
The Royal King’s Arms (Lancaster) is having a lot of money spent. The will be bars open to the public, but no real ale..
12 June
The Highwayman (Nether Burrow) is now managed by Brunning & Price an upmarket Chester-based firm..
2 July
The Chupito's (Lancaster) ..
3 July
The Horse & Farrier (Bentham) is for sale..
An application for a licence has been made for Harry’s Bar & Bistro (Morecambe) - the former Masala..
10 July
The Slice of Siclly. (Claughton-on-Brock) is reopening as the Brockholes Arms 15 July but Sundays only. May have real ale in bottles no food...
11 July
The Wellington (Morecambe) ..
12 July
The Harry’s Bar & Bistro (Morecambe) opened on 6 July. No informstion on beer yet..
The Royal Station (Carnforth) is adding a brewery to its facilities...
The Dog & Partridge (Morecambe) ..
The manager of the King’s Arms (Morecambe) is moving to the Dog & Partridge..
22 July
The 75 Church Street (Lancaster) now has real ale (Cloudwater Simcoe Ekuanot recently) but priceyt .
1 August
Borough Brewery: Everyone's being very tight-lipped about what is gong on here, but keg beers under the name of "Horner Brothers" have been spotted in the Borough.
Chameleon Pub Company: are selling their pubs
11 August
The Angus Depot (Bentham) is closed (probably)..
The Highwayman (Nether Burrow) is closed for refurbishment. Reopening 15 September with luck..
15 August
The Kenlis Arms (Barnacre) has been sold and is planned to shut in September..
The Masons (Morecambe) has been renamed "The Masons", close to uts original name, and has gained cask ale...
There is a new tenant in the Wheatsheaf (Garstang) who plans to put more non-Heineken beers on.
10 September
Change of licensee at:- V12 (Garstang)
13 September
There is a planning application to reopen the Victoria (Glasson Dock) with a bar on the ground floor and flats above..
15 September
Change of licensee at:- Highwayman (Nether Burrow)
21 September
The Greyhound (Halton) ..
The Hest Bank (Hest Bank) ..
The Penny Bank (Lancaster) ..
25 September
There is a new manager at the New Inn (Clapham) . He has won CAMRA awards in other pubs in Yorkshire..
30 September
The Taps on the Green (Carnforth) is closed for refurbishment and also for sale..
1 October
The Tap House (Lancaster) has been sold to Trust Inns..
4 October
The Highwayman (Nether Burrow) reopened on 15 September, little altered but no longer a Thwaites pub and with a better choice of beer..
8 October
After some uncertainty, it seems that the New Inn (Clapham) is now being run by Craft Union, EI's management arm..
11 October
The King’s Arms (Morecambe) is closed for refurbishment, reopening 23 November..
The Hest Bank (Hest Bank) ..
The Water Witch (Lancaster) ..
26 October
The Bay Horse (Arkholme) has been sold to a villager..
3 November
There is a new bar called V12 (Garstang) (near Aldi). All beer in bottles, some of it Farm Yard..
The Accidental Brewery (Lancaster) has opened as "Accidental Brewery". Only brews cloudy keg but has two cask Hawkshead ales..
5 November
Cornerhouse (Lancaster) has been transformed into the Cornerhouse, with eight handpumps..
6 November
The Kenlis Arms (Barnacre) has reopened, contrary to expectation..
9 November
The Dragons Head (Whittington) is for sale..
The Generation (Lancaster) ..
The Station (Morecambe) ..
15 November
Change of licensee at:- Sir Richard Owen (Lancaster)
28 November
Horner Brothers Brewery: Have now started producing cask ales. Production has moved to Heysham.
2 December
The Station (Ribblehead) appears to be closed. Does anyone have any details?.
15 December
Mitchells: have gone into administration. The intention seems to be to sell the pubs off one by one rather than keep the company going. York Brewery has been sold to Black Sheep.
31 December
The Park (Morecambe) has a new manager who is keen on cask beer. It also now has regular if limited opening hours...
Q Brew: A brewery starting in Carnforth on 7 January.