In early April this year, the hospitality sector was dealt a triple-blow to its operating conditions. The Great British pub, an institution regarded by many as on its knees, saw a reduction to business rates relief, an increase in employer national insurance contributions and an increase to the paid minimum wage.

A cruel joke, two of the three changes came into effect on April Fools’ Day, a day that saw perfect beer garden weather. This led to me feeling conflicted as I sat on the outdoor decking of a sun-drenched pub, pint in hand, ready to talk about challenges faced by modern publicans. I had arranged to meet Mark Prendergast and Oli Board, new managers of Berkhamsted’s oldest pub, The Bull.

The Bull in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, was constructed at a time when Henry VIII was on the throne, around 1535. It is not outrageous to imagine the portly king supping at The Bull, considering the monarch’s eleven-year residence at nearby Asheridge House, a property that came into his possession through the dissolution of the monasteries in the late 1530s. Unlike the guillotines and ruffled collars of Henry’s rule, The Bull is still tangible in everyday life, and remains a community hub for the people of Berkhamsted. But the pub is an old building that creaks and groans, and new problems are beginning to rear up.

I SIGNED UP FOR THE LOVE OF THE JOB, THE PEOPLE AND THE COMMUNITY.

“Five percent. We’re looking at five percent off the business from the changes this month. That’s without any other prices rises, or reactionary changes from ourselves.” Honing in on business rates, Bar Manager Mark explained further “The playing field is massively skewed when it comes to local bricks-and-mortar businesses versus giant online retailers. The [business rates] relief has gone down at the same time that we’ve been told to absorb a two-pronged rise in staffing costs. But I didn’t sign up to be a publican for the money. I signed up for the love of the job, the people and the community.”

YOU CAN BRING A CALF TO WATER

When I’d arrived at the pub, Mark was partway through constructing a new set of garden benches and Head Chef Oli was on his way. Mark seemed relieved to be distracted from the task at hand. “The manufacturer shipped these [benches] out with the correct number of panels, hooray, but nowhere near enough bolts! Anyway, the pub opens in fifteen minutes.”

Destined for The Bull’s canalside beer garden, located at the north end of the pub’s elongated footprint, Mark’s benches were just one facet of an ambitious exterior makeover. The headline feature of the revamp was a new children’s climbing frame named The Calf. The Calf was an impressive turret-shaped structure, a nod, I was told by Mark, to Berkhamsted Castle. The turret’s cabin, complete with a slide, could be accessed via a child-sized climbing wall. Underneath the cabin sat a small booth, adorned as a miniature pub.

“Here it is – The Calf. It wasn’t cheap, it was bespoke in fact. We’re hoping it boosts our family credentials for the summer.” Mark elaborated “We’ve invested so that the pub can become a community space for Berkhamsted residents. We can’t let five percent off the balance sheet compromise our offer. The Calf, the benches, new green spots.. they help us cater to community values. They bring people in.”

The pub’s garden area was flourishing and, helped by Mark’s green fingers, the space looked very much in bloom. He remained pragmatic still “Maybe it was easier for pubs in the past, but operating conditions are getting tougher. These days, you can’t rely solely on a canalside setting. In fact, some think of our location as off-the-beaten-track,” he rounded off “We want to give these people a reason to choose The Bull.”

A CHOCOLATE BOX PUB RUN

Set to the east of Berkhamsted, The Bull’s beer garden offers a first glimpse of the Grand Union Canal from the high street, located at one end of the town’s celebrated pub run. The Berkhamsted run, or crawl, is a route of twelve pubs on a near straight line that straddles either side of the high street. Alongside easy navigation and bountiful pub numbers, the town’s chocolate-box aesthetics make Berkhamsted the beer destination of West Hertfordshire. Held in similar regional esteem as St. Albans, AKA home of CAMRA, this historic market town swings above its weight when it comes to pubs.

Local opinions are split when it comes to the crawl’s health. Some believe that a post-COVID peak in pub numbers makes the growing, affluent town a beer drinker’s nirvana. Others reckon that the latest round of budget measures could be the last nail in the coffin of their beloved locals, already pitted in fierce competition. As part a press release which addressed April’s business changes, CAMRA’s national chairman Ash Corbett-Collins said “Hundreds of pubs have already stopped trading this year … with big increases in costs from higher National Insurance contributions starting this week, and hikes in business rates bills for pubs in England too … we risk losing more pubs which are a vital part of our social fabric”. I was determined to find out what Berkhamsted publicans thought of the run’s future.

“The town is definitely seen as a pub destination and I think that in that respect, we all make each other stronger. Every pub has its niche and serves it well.” It was very nearly opening time and Head Chef Oli had arrived, keen to add his opinion. “Pub crawls, pub-golf, hen dos, stag dos; they still pass through. Not as often as they did. It seems the party economy has shrunk a lot. Clubs and bars aren’t as prevalent as they were pre-Covid and Uber isn’t allowed to operate in the town, so taxi prices can be uncompetitive. Of course, people just have less in their pockets at the moment which is another barrier altogether. Add to these concerns the reduction in business rates relief and increase in NI and wages – it could get tough for all of us.” By now, the pub had began to come to life, so we took our pints out of the sun and into the heart of The Bull.

The interior of The Bull, a Grade-II listed building, features plush leather seats, charcoal-black wood paneling, a large Tudor fireplace and casement bow windows. Though, as Oli said, the pub “creaks and groans”, The Bull is considered a charming highlight of the town’s legendary pub run.

OF TIME AND FREEDOM

Oli had started in The Bull’s kitchen nine years ago, part of a team headed up by previous owners Russell and Shelley. Like the owner before them, Russell and Shelley leased from pub company Red Oak Taverns. Oli remarked “Red Oak Taverns are a good pub company and have looked after this building for years and years now”. Oli and Mark’s relationship with their pub company, or ‘PubCo’, was key to the business’ bigger picture.

In recent years, many of the nation’s PubCos have seen complete relationship breakdowns with their tenanted managers, leading to the establishment of the Pubs Code Adjudicator, a new government body with statutory powers and regulations. Mark expanded on his pub’s relationship with Red Oak Taverns, clearly content with the arrangement “They take care of the building itself. As I said, The Bull is very old and that could be an expensive worry. The structure is covered, as is the boiler and a number of other big assets. This leaves us with the time and creative freedom to grow the pub, even in the face of new challenges coming this month.” Like Oli, Mark had worked under Russell and Shelley for a respectable spell, now in his eighth year at the pub.

With a combined tenure of nearly two decades, Mark and Oli had wowed thousands of covers and poured countless well-kept pints before they took the reins in January 2024. Common knowledge among by the pub’s regulars, Oli and Mark prided themselves on a warm welcome. I was impressed that with each guest passing through the door, of which there were many on this particular Tuesday afternoon, came a first-name greeting and a familial chitchat with either manager. The pub was far removed from the ‘painted on smiles’ cliché so bemoaned of clinical hospitality. Mark and Oli knew from experience, a pub can be the centre-point of community life.

AS WITH MANY BRITISH PUBS, THE BULL HAS GOT A SIMPLE YET APPEALING PURPOSE. WE DON’T PLAN TO DEVIATE FROM THAT, JUST TO MAKE IT THE BEST IT CAN BE.

“We’ve been in charge for a year and three months now and we’ve not had a single instance of anti-social behaviour. We’ve not had to eject or bar anyone. Unlike the supermarkets, who seem to get an easier ride, we have a duty of care to supervise our drinkers. Locals know The Bull to be a safe and welcoming space. That, for us, is what it’s all about.” Mark is the most local of locals, living above the pub where as he told me, there were still fixtures for hammock bedding. These fixtures are a reminder that The Bull was a popular guest house in the heydays of the canals. Oli added “The pub has hospitality heritage. Not much has changed besides the offer of beds and hammocks. As with many British pubs, it’s got a simple yet appealing purpose. We don’t plan to deviate from that, just to make it the best that it can be.”

Rounding off our chat, Mark doubled-down on Oli’s ‘simple but well-executed’ sentiment “You can’t be everything to everyone. We used to have a commercial-grade coffee machine, but there’s no need to compete with the fifty other coffee outlets in town. We removed live sports from the pub almost as soon as we took over, which was a sweeping change.” As a spectator in The Bull many times myself, I knew the sizeable crowds live sports had drawn in. But, as Mark explained, with a near eightfold increase in broadcasting costs, the 24/25 season had brought little financial promise. A change in management called for a clean slate. Mark and Oli were determined to crack the basics.

UP TO SPEED, AND ONE FOR THE ROAD

These days, ‘Monday Quiz Night’, ‘Cheap Tuesday’ and ‘Fish & Chip Friday’ put bums firmly in seats, complimented by unique seasonal events such as beer and food matchings, wine and food matchings, and street food markets. Oli’s culinary passions are clear, though in his own words he didn’t want to “..project [my] personal obsessions onto a menu that is expected to be refined British pub fare. It’s tried and tested and I respect that.” He concluded “There are personal touches; seasonal produce, weekly specials, recipe twists.. but the beer and wine matching events, served up with special small dishes, allow the kitchen team and I to explore our gastronomic curiosities. Thankfully, our guests love these events just as much as we do.”

It had come time to finish our interview, which had meandered into a friendly babble through the help of some local cask ale. I was left with the impression that both managers took the changes of April 1^st very seriously, understanding the consequences for British publicans, the Berkhamsted run and their newly acquired business venture. But to them it was more than a business venture, it was a lifestyle and a purpose.

Oli and Mark recognised that warm welcomes, well-kept beer, quality food and a sense of community make British pubs a sum of their parts and then some. Sure, there were new challenges for Berkhamsted’s oldest pub, but the outlook of The Bull’s latest custodians was optimistic and resolute. Oli and Mark were going to give it their all.

Cheers to The Bull!

The Bull can be found at 10 High Street, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire HP4 2BS. To join CAMRA in supporting and protecting British pubs, or to find out more about the organisation’s stance on recent changes to business rates relief, the paid minimum wage and employer national insurance contribution, please visit camra.org.uk.

This feature was written by accredited beer sommelier Jared Ward-Brickett, and produced with the support of Laura Hadland via a mentorship scheme from The British Guild of Beer Writers. If you’re interested in finding out more about the Guild, click here. All words, photos and graphics by Jared Ward-Brickett.