Liverpool's oldest pub welcomed two special guests on Friday, August 28, to raise a glass in honour of a legendary donkey. Ye Hole In Ye Wall, in the city centre on Hackins Hey, marked the 100th anniversary of the death of Judy the Donkey with the start of a weekend of themed celebrations raising money for a local stable.
Judy's legacy in Liverpool
Judy the Donkey was so famous that two newspapers carried stories about her death in 1926. The people of Toxteth erected a memorial in her memory in Princes Park, paid for by the community.
Laura Prior, chair of the Friends of Princes Park, told the ECHO: "Judy was well-loved and very famous in Liverpool. The story is that they wanted to get someone well known to open the Liver Building, and they got Judy. The ribbon was covered in peanut butter and she chewed through it."
Events of Judy's life have been hotly contested over the years, with some arguing that stories surrounding her legacy have been "embellished". This is partly due to the fact that peanut butter was not widely imported into Britain until the 1930s, decades after the building first opened.
Ponies visit the pub
Regardless, Judy did indeed exist, with stories including saving a group of teenagers from drowning in the lake in Princes Park, and that she was a regular in Ye Hole in Ye Wall.
In honour of Judy's legacy, Ye Hole In Ye Wall welcomed Millie and Moses from the Park Palace Ponies stable on Mill Street, Liverpool. Their arrival marked a weekend of western-themed celebrations raising funds for the stable, including fancy dress, raffles, competitions, games and live entertainment.
Bar manager Lisa Kelly told the ECHO: "Judy used to come in and have a stout. We didn't find out until recently. I always went to the grave. Stephan [Hoy, the manager] asked what can we do so we started fundraising for Park Palace Ponies because they celebrated Judy in Princes Park and left flowers down."
Fundraising for the community
Millie and Moses met and greeted customers around the pub, with Millie now officially sponsored by the venue. Lisa added: "We supported the stable because they're great for the community, especially for the kids."
Ye Hole In Ye Wall celebrated 300 remarkable years of service in April. Stephan and Lisa's emotional attachment to Ye Hole in Ye Wall, and to each other as long-time colleagues, is clear to see and reflected in the atmosphere the pair strive to create.
Lisa told the ECHO: "I absolutely love [Ye Hole in Ye Wall]. It's the best place I've worked in. [Stephan and I] only work together, no one else. It's just us two that work. We're a good little team."
Stephan added: "I won't work with anybody else, because, as I said, I class Lisa like my daughter. I've never had a daughter. But if I ever did, that would be her."
