Our speaker for the September Monthly Meeting was Neil Hanson, one time landlord and owner of the highest pub in England – the Tan Hill Inn, 1732 feet above sea level.  His working life started out as the art critic for The Guardian and a rugby sports correspondent for the Manchester Evening News. He applied for a job at the Tan Hill Inn and despite minimal experience other than as a drinker in the pub trade, found himself behind the bar and eventually bought the property.

The scenery in the Swaledale valley is spectacular but the building was in a very poor state of repair – harsh winds and reputedly 250 rainy days in the year had taken its toll. The roof was repaired, the flag stone floor re-laid and the unsightly outer render removed.

The Tan Hill Inn then starred in an advertising campaign for Everest double glazing.  The clip from the advertisement showed Ted Moult struggling across the hillside in the teeth of a gale before moving inside to the bar area to demonstrate how effective the replacement windows were at keeping the harsh conditions at bay.  Thus, the windows got replaced. The campaign made celebrities of two locals who ‘propped’ up the bar to add a bit of authenticity.

However, the planning authority felt the windows were wrong – they should have been sash window replacements – and ordered their removal.  A leak on this decision to the local and national press caused a public uproar and the local councillors voted instead to keep the existing windows as the Everest campaign had greatly added to tourism in the area.

You can view a video of the Everest advert on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBPWJfq4dDA