'Truly a worthy winner': Beloved Preston pub celebrates 'most improved' award

The Old Black Bull, on Friargate, will today be presented with an award from the Campaign for Real Ale’s (CAMRA) Central Lancashire branch.

It had previously won ‘Pub of the Year’ three times before being closed down for “extensive” renovation work.

After being sold by the Greene King brewery in 2024, the grade-II listed pub was formally reopened in December under new landlady Yvonne Stringfellow, who had previously run The Wellington on Tulketh Road.

Reopening just weeks before Christmas, the pub opened its doors to new booths, a new servery, and a refitted back room.

It also now boasts five ales on-tap, four of which change regularly throughout the year. Before being taken over by Yvonne, the pub was said to have operated under unpredictable hours, with fewer options for cask ale.

“Something that’s brewery or pub co-owned often finds it harder to do well in competitions, because there’s a restriction normally on what they can sell,” said Central Lancashire CAMRA chairman Adrian Smith.

“If the building is owned by a third party, the tenant is very much at the mercy of that third party, on how much work is done on the building, how good it looks, how smart it is, and what they can do by way of improvements.

“It’s easier if a pub is family-owned, and has been in a family for generations, because they would have been able to spend their own money on it and invest in their business. I think that’s what makes this achievement all the more notable.”

CAMRA is a nationwide voluntary organisation which campaigns to protect pubs and breweries from closure while preserving their historical character, all while promoting only the best in real ale.

As well as dishing out awards across a variety of categories, members of CAMRA also rate and review the quality of ales available on-tap – as well as the pubs they are served in.

“There are lots of things that go into how we rate pubs,” Adrian told the Lancashire Evening Post last week.

“The knowledge of the people who run it, their knowledge of beer and how they present the product, the atmosphere, the attitude of the staff, cleanliness, the nature of the building, the furnishings - what we would call the ‘wow factor’.

“Do you walk in the pub and think this is something special?”

The Old Black Bull will be hosting an awards ceremony at their pub at 7:30pm on September 11, with anyone welcome to come along.

“This award is only presented in years where there is a clearly outstanding pub worthy of the title Most Improved,” Adrian said.

“In the case of the Old Black Bull, the decision needed little debate from the judging panel. We are delighted to have this wonderful old pub back in action and in such good hands after so much hard work and financial investment.

“It is a truly worthy winner.”

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