Forum topic: Another PG pub lost?

Another Palmers Green pub has closed - the Woodman on Bourne Hill, reportedly after having been sold to another pub operator.

Photo sourced from a Facebook post by Mike Lawn

According to a post made yesterday to the Winchmore Hill & Palmers Green Memories group on Facebook by Mike Lawn, and accompanied by the fine photograph above, the Woodman on Bourne Hill has been sold by pub chain Marstons and closed as of yesterday.

In his post Mike points out that it was also Marstons who were responsible for the illegal demolition of "Britain's wonkiest pub", the Crooked Housein Dudley, after it had been severely damaged by an accidental(?) fire.

Mike writes that Marstons have "sold it on, we think, to another brewery", commenting "We will have to wait and see!!!"

Given the scarcity of pubs in Palmers Green and the recent loss of our largest hostelry, the Alfred Herring, it would be bad news indeed if it the Woodman weren't to reopen.

As for Marstons, they along with the company that took them over and adopted their name, Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries (who traded under the name Banks's), were not so long ago proud upholders of traditions in British brewing and owners of regional chains of mainly small leased pubs - located predominantly in the Midlands, so the Woodman was something of an outlier.

However, in recent decades the company's ethos has changed radically and in 2020 Marstons set up a joint venture, Carlsberg Marstons Brewing Company, with the now giant international brewer who, if truth be told, probably never produced "the best beer in the world". Then, very recently, Marstons sold its 40 per cent stake and Carlsberg became full owners of the British breweries.

The Campaign for Real Ale's website quotes Marstons' management as saying that the sale of the breweries "allows us to become a pure play hospitality business and focus on what we do best – namely, giving our guests amazing pub experiences".

Well, whatever those amazing pub experiences might be, the former regulars at the Woodman will have to go somewhere else if they want to enjoy them and the accompanying "pure play hospitality".