A historic pub in one of Cheshire's footballer-belt villages has been named the best in the north west. The Church Inn in Mobberley claimed the title at the prestigious National Pub & Bar Awards revealed this week, who hailed it: "the perfect, quintessential English village pub."
It was one of 94 pubs highlighted as the best in their county, and went on to also claim the North West Pub & Bar of the Year at the event too. While The Church Inn was named best in Cheshire, the Horse & Jockey in Chorlton claimed the title in Greater Manchester.
Other north west winners included The King's Arms in Hawkshead for Cumbria, and the Farmers Arms in Great Eccleston in Lancashire.
A Celebrity Hotspot
The Church Inn is used to winning the plaudits, and also recently featured in Wayne Rooney's BBC podcast. Wayne chose to head to his local pub for two Christmas editions of his football talk show.
The cosy pub, as its title suggests, sits directly opposite the village church, the ancient St Wilfrids. And the pub is well used to famous faces through its wooden doors, thanks in no small part to the lush area it sits in, one of the wealthiest areas of East Cheshire. Wayne and wife Coleen have their family home not so far away, while a host of other Premier League footballers live in the vicinity. Recent famous faces at the pub included a bevy of Coronation Street stars past and present who posted pictures of their lunch there on social media.
Historic Charm and Modern Accolades
The Church Inn itself dates back to the 1700s, and boasts a host of quirky details, wooden beams and open fireplaces. The private room that Wayne and the football podcast used is called the George Mallory room, in a nod to one of Mobberley's most famous ever sons, the 1920s mountaineer.
Last year the company won three Publican Awards, and it has even been mentioned in the prestigious Michelin Guide. It is known for its range of fine wines, and also does a "wine of the month" giving customers the chance to buy rare fine wines by the glass.
It is famous for its Sunday lunch, while certain dishes have become signatures throughout the week, including its famous steak and kidney pudding and its freshly-baked souffles in regularly changing flavours.
Rescue and Revival
The pub is owned by Cheshire Cat pubs, the family-run pub group that also owns The Bulls Head down the road in Mobberley as well as previous Pub of the Year winner The Cholmondeley Arms near Chester. They took on The Church Inn in 2012, when its future was left hanging in the balance after going on the market to be snatched up by developers.
Pub group owners Tim Bird and Mary McLaughlin swooped in to rescue it from becoming housing, opting to open a ‘country tavern’ with a sun trap terrace and garden at the rear too. Tim previously told the MEN: "We created an old inn which would cook with intensity and flair, with a fine wine and port collection and an ambience that hugged you on the way in and grabbed your leg on the way out (like all our pubs to be honest!)"
Award-Winning Recognition
The National Pub & Bar Awards are organised by Pub and Bar Magazine who had this to say about the Church Inn: "The grade II listed Church Inn dates back to 1715 and sits in a perfect position opposite the 12th century village church St Wilfrids in Mobberley. Owners Cheshire Cat Pubs & Bars describe the Church Inn as a 'country tavern with dining rooms'. The pub specialises in wine, with over 100 by the bottle and 24 different wines featured as wines of the month, matched with dishes on the menu. While the Church Inn sets its stall out to be a dining destination, it also has all the ingredients of the perfect, quintessential English village pub."
