First landlady of the Hammer and Pincers
Barrow Voice welcomes Sharon Lockard as the new licensee of the Hammer and Pincers for Punch Taverns. She took over from Glyn Hewitt when he retired in September. We wish him a happy retirement.
Sharon is no stranger to Barrow or the Hammer and Pincers. She worked for Glyn for 10 years and so she is well aware of the particular feel of the pub and its potential. She is very proud of the fact that she is the first woman to become the licensee in her own right (rather than as the wife of a licensee) since 1794. Hers is now a familyrun business with all her staff being members of her immediate family.
Sharon’s ambition is for the Hammer and Pincers to become the heart of the village; somewhere for people to come at any time of the day to find friendship, entertainment and a welcoming atmosphere. One of her first moves, after the big makeover of the bar area was to install a splendid new coffee machine because ‘people don’t have to see the pub as a place where you can only go to drink alcohol’.
She is encouraging the elderly to drop in for a game of cribbage or draughts or chess. As soon as the state-of-the-art kitchen is completed she will be offering genuinely home-cooked ‘hearty’ fare of high quality but low cost. This will include a special offer for OAPs. New toilets including facilities for the disabled will be ready for Christmas.
A historic part of the Hammer and Pincers is the Rose Room and that too has benefited from a makeover. Sharon has already assembled an exciting programme of activities for the over 60s including monthly Country and Western sessions with a live band and ballroom dancing lessons at lunchtime. She is also hoping that it will be a venue for violin lessons for the under 14s. She would be pleased to receive other ideas and requests. In the pub itself there will be regular disco and karaoke nights as well as soul nights and live bands.
Sharon is bubbling with ideas and enthusiasm and we wish her the best of luck. Judith Rodgers