Star Pubs and Bars awards longest serving licensee

Yorkshire pub licensee Elizabeth Wood has received a long-service award to mark her 40th anniversary at The White Swan in Hebden Bridge. 

Wood was presented the award by Star Pubs and Bars, who leases the venue, and wanted to recognise the contribution she “has made to the town during her four decades at the pub”.

During her tenure the group said she “has dealt with two major floods from the River Heb and disruption from Covid restrictions. Despite the challenges she is not calling time and is determined to be one of the first wet-led pubs to reopen in the region”. 

Woods – who is Hebden Bridge’s longest-serving licensee – took over The White Swan with her husband Henry at the start of the 1980’s and has run it “single handed since his death in 1999”.

It comes as The White Swan is preparing to open up on 12 April for the first time in five months, as lockdown restrictions begin to ease across the UK. 

Anthony Briggs, Star Pubs and Bars’ area manager for Halifax and Huddersfield, said: “You couldn’t find a friendlier pub, people feel comfortable coming in on their own as someone will always talk to them. Thanks to Elizabeth, The White Swan has stood the test of a time and is a Hebden Bridge institution with a loyal following of all ages. 

“It’s an incredible achievement that Elizabeth has run a thriving community pub for so long and I’ve every confidence that with her determination and resilience the pub will bounce back quickly after the challenges of flooding and Covid.”