Village pub suffers ‘devastating’ fire
The extent of the blaze at the Smoker in Plumley is currently unknown but it is expected to be severe.
It broke out at 5.30pm yesterday (Wednesday 23 October) at the more than 400-year-old pub and continued well into the night with fire crews remaining on site this morning (Thursday 24 October).
Smoke and flames were spotted around the base of one of the chimney stacks, in the thatched roof at the front of the building.
The pub is operated by Robinsons’ pub partner Darren Crawford, who runs it under the Broadoak Pub Company.
Severe damage expected
Robinsons managing director of pubs William Robinson thanked Cheshire Fire & Rescue and Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue as both services attended the fire and worked throughout the night to extinguish it.
He added: “Alongside the fire crews, The Salvation Army were on site, playing an incredible role in looking after the welfare of the fire crews and others on site.
“It will take quite some time to fully understand the level of damage that has been done but we suspect it to be quite severe.”
Robinsons and Broadoak Pub Company, which operates other Robinsons pubs, Red Lion, Parr Arms, Alvanley Arms and the Plough, will be working together with insurers to understand what will be required to return the pub to its former glory.
The Smoker has been owned by the Robinsons family brewers since 1949 and is one of the only sites in the estate with a thatched roof.
Temperature monitoring
A statement from Cheshire Fire & Rescue Service, which was updated at 2pm today (Thursday 24 October) confirmed one fire engine and aerial appliance was still in attendance.
Firefighters were monitoring the temperature of the building and an investigation suggested the most probable cause was the fire started in the chimney.
Last month (September), Robinsons reported record turnover and profit despite “challenging trading conditions”.
Furthermore, the company also recently reopened the Alexandra in Edgeley, which has undergone a refurbishment.
