Lifeline lockdown service earns Barton Seagrave pub top award

A Barton Seagrave pub which delivered food to the vulnerable during the difficult lockdown months has won recognition for its community work.

As pubs up and down the country closed their doors when the nation shut down in March because of the Covid pandemic, The Stirrup Cup in Woodland Avenue stayed 'open' to help those in need.

During the 15-week national lockdown they delivered lifeline meals to the elderly and those shielding in Barton Seagrave, Burton Latimer and Kettering, sending out between 140 and 150 roast dinners on Sundays alone.

And their public-spirited efforts have earned them the “Best Community Pub of the Year in the East of England” award from the Ei Group, which owns the freehold of the pub, beating 350 others from a huge area spanning from Norfolk to Hertfordshire to Birmingham.

Pub owner Chris Herring said: "We have just tried to keep as upbeat as possible and help others.

"The Stirrup Cup is very much a community pub. Anything community-wise we could do, we have done."

With popular pub man Mark Hindwood going above and beyond The Stirrup Cup delivered hot meals from 11.30am to 7.30pm, seven days a week.

They also sent out picnic hampers to help celebrate VE Day and the May bank holidays with cakes and sandwiches to keep spirits high, with gatherings banned.

The pub's delivery service has proved so popular they are continuing it to ensure the vulnerable, those shielding, those living in isolation or those in quarantine can still receive fresh, hot food.

Chris, 56, added: "It's a weird world and to be able to help people through it has been fantastic."

He said the community pub, which often holds meat raffles and music nights and has a pub horse - Wild Hope, which came third in the 7.15pm race at Newcastle last night (Tuesday) - was looking forward to getting back to normal.

Kettering's Conservative MP Philip Hollobone, a supporter of the pub, said: "Chris is a genuine local hero and a credit to Barton Seagrave.

"Together with his amazing, talented and friendly staff he has created The Stirrup Cup as a real community hub, making the pub a welcoming place to which local people really want to go.

"As well as that the home deliveries of pub meals and Sunday lunches has attracted hundreds of local customers who would otherwise have not been able to get to the pub, including many retired residents, some of whom are on their own, and kept spirits high during the difficult days of lockdown.

"Chris has gone above and beyond and I am delighted that The Stirrup Cup has beaten 350 other pubs to rightly win this prestigious award.

"This recognition is thoroughly well deserved. Local people are lucky to have Chris and The Stirrup Cup at the heart of our local community."

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