Shakespeare-inspired Micropub to Open Valentine’s Day

By on Friday, February 9, 2018

Prescot’s first micropub will open on Wednesday 14 February.

The Bard micropub at 57 High Street officially welcomes its first customers at 4pm on Valentine’s Day. The opening day theme will be ‘Shakespeare in Love.’

Inspired by the legacy of the world’s greatest playwright, husband-and-wife team John and Julie Marsden are opening the establishment to coincide with the arrival of Shakespeare North’s Elizabethan theatre and university in the town. The theatre, in turn, is inspired by the late-16th-century Prescot Playhouse, the first purpose-built, freestanding theatre outside London.

The couple (pictured at the bar with grandson Sonny) have been running Melwood Brewery since 2013. Based on Lord Derby’s Knowsley estate, its range of locally themed ales include Knowsley Blonde, Derby Stout and Stanley Gold.

“We’re proud to be in Prescot,” John told Prescot Online. “It’s always been the plan to be in the local area, and to bring something very different to the town.”

He continued: “We want to work with other businesses and pubs to make Prescot great again. There’s a huge amount of potential, and we’re excited to be part of the redevelopment of the area.”

The bar boasts six pumps. At least one will be from Melwood Brewery itself – a Shakespeare-themed ale is in the works – but the owners plan to showcase beers from other breweries in the region and beyond, especially those that no other pub in Prescot sells.

The array of gins on offer will include such local brands as Turncoat, Tappers and Liverpool Gin, and lager lovers can enjoy a glass of Münchner Hell, from the Paulaner brewery in Munich.

Opening hours of the The Bard will be 4pm to 10pm Monday to Friday, and 12 noon to 10pm weekends and bank holidays.

Prescot’s first micropub

The Micropub Association defines a micropub as “a small freehouse which listens to its customers, mainly serves cask ales, promotes conversation, shuns all forms of electronic entertainment and dabbles in traditional pub snacks.”

While Prescot itself has never had a micropub, similar ventures in Whiston and Rainhill have met with success in recent years.

The Beer Engin opened on Greenes Road, Whiston, in August 2016 – the first of its kind in the Knowsley borough – and is helping organise the first Whiston Beer Festival, from 23 to 25 March 2018.

The Skew Bridge Alehouse opened in Dane Court, Rainhill, the following month.

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