Subject: RE: Station Inn Whitby
From:
Geoff the Duck
Date: 02 May 07 - 03:40 AM
When I first got to Whitby Folk Week (1981) the pub was called the Cutty Sark, and was a nice enough, but fairly ordinary pub with nice enough but fairly ordinary beer. I can't recall for certain which brewery it was tied to, possibly Camerons, but It is a long time ago now. The decor was carpets, wallpaper and a single choice of beer.
In the early 1980s a few innovative landlords across the country came up with the idea of giving beer drinkers a choice not linked to ONE breaery. The Fighting Cock in Bradford (formerly the Preston Hotel) was one of the first of these. These were totally independent and as decor cvhose to go for the original wooden floor and a clean but basic decor, nothing fancy.
When they had proved that this idea was popular, a number of bigger organisations copied the idea but as a chain of pubs all branded in basically the same way. The Tap and Spile chain was one of these.
Since that time, the "chain"was bought and sold between brewery and "pub owning company" and in the process the freedom to select their own choice of beer which the licensee originally had, became more and more restricted to an OFFICIAL LIST provided by the "COMPANY". Finally the chain was split up by the accountants, with many of the pubs sold off completely. Some were leased to the occupiers. At this point many of the pubs which had been Tap & Spiles changed their name and image. Other landlords/ladies decided to keep the name and the "branding" as it suited the type of customer they wished to encourage.
Back to Whitby. The new management seem to want to keep going the same kind of music which made itself at home in the Tap, but they also intend to alter other aspects of the pub, type and scale of food served, for instance. Changes to the decor have been fairly subtle, but they presumably feel that what the will be offering is different enough from the Tap & Spile brand image that the name is no longer appropriate. It makes sense that a new name goes with a "new" pub.
What they haven't done is turned it back into the style or type of pub which the old Cutty Sark was. If they had just reverted to how it was then, it might make sense to go back to being "the Cutty" but they are going for something diferent from both pubs.
I am told that the pub WAS originally called The Station, hardly surprising as it is directly opposite the railway station. I suspect the name probably got changed after Beeching gutted the rail network.
It therefore is a pretty obvious choice as new name for the pub.
Quack!
Geoff the Duck.
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sj
