It was once one of the gems of the York pub scene.
But drinkers have been denied access to the Wellington Inn, on Alma Terrace, for nearly two years.
The Sam Smith’s local was shut in November 2024 even though the landlady Sue was acclaimed for revitalising the place in her 18 months in charge.
It was thought she had fallen foul of the ‘curse of Humphrey’ – the owner of Sam Smith’s Brewery who had a habit of shutting pubs and throwing out tenant managers on a whim.
Since Humphrey’s death, a number of Sam Smith’s pubs have been revived.
And now the place everyone calls ‘the Welly’ will reopen again on Tuesday.
The date has been announced by the Duke of Wellington himself. Well, at least a portrait of the famous general.
Reports on social media say a Yorkshire couple have taken over the tenancy.
Work to redecorate and renovate the inside of the Wellington have been ongoing this summer.
The backstreet local, which dates back to 1850, was bought by Sam Smith’s in 1887 and is little altered since Victorian times.
It has three rooms – the public bar on the left and two lounges. According to the Campaign for Real Ale, “it is the oldest purpose-built York pub to survive so unaltered”.
Grade II listed, the Wellington didn’t always have that name. In 1867, the pub was known as Lawsons’s Beerhouse; in 1887, the Sir Colin Campbell.