‘Keir Starmer’s welcome anytime!’ vow household who saved Stockport pub from destroy

Northern father and son duo Chris and Alan Gent, plus daughter in law Amy Barker, have delighted locals in Greater Manchester by restoring historic freehouse The Crown Inn to its former glory

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Industrious father and son duo Chris and Alan Gent, plus daughter in law Amy Barker, got the keys to The Crown Inn, in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in July 2025, came runner up in the prestigious CAMRA Heritage Award last week, an accolade which honours those who “promote and preserve the interiors of historic pubs, highlighting people who have saved or who have carefully revived a heritage pub”.

30 years ago, The Crown Inn was Stockport‘s best pub and a historic institution of the area dating back to 1877, when three terraced houses were turned into a drinking establishment. Yet for the last decade or so it’s been in decline – open, but left dilapidated by its former landlord, with dwindling customers, smashed mirrors and rumours of crime on its doorstep.

Six months ago, Chris, Alan and Amy took over the lease, and began to breathe new life into The Crown Inn, working by hand to strip years of dodgy paint from the vintage fireplace tiles, replacing shattered Victorian stained glass panels, and cleaning years worth of dirt and grime from long-neglected beer lines in the cellar.

It’s been a total “labour of love”, with their local community in mind. And the family’s hard work has left locals in tears. They invited the Mirror for a pint in the pub’s cosy “Green Room”, to tell us their story exclusively. “We’ve had people come in to tell us how grateful they are, and that they drank in the pub 40 years ago. It holds so many memories for a lot of people,” says Alan, 75, who lives in nearby Cheadle with his wife Carol, 72. She lent a hand by adding blooms to brighten up the long-empty planters in front of the building.

Alan says: “In its 148 year history, this place has seen weddings, wakes, breakups, makeups, first dates, last chats – anything and everything you could imagine. If these walls could talk, there wouldn’t be a book big enough to hold the pages.”

Today, Chris, Alan and Amy throw their support behind the Mirror’s Your Pub Needs You campaign, saying British freehouses are more important than ever. Chris, 40, who used to work in Sainsbury’s bakery and also owns Stockport’s The Petersgate Tap with dad Alan, says: “Pubs are a part of British culture, they’re a part of our national identity that shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Nowhere else in the world has them and therefore they’re an institution that needs to be respected, preserved and celebrated. The Mirror’s pub campaign is crucial. One pub closed every single day last year across the country. Not only are pubs good for the economy but also the local area, they give people somewhere to meet and somewhere to be proud of.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer threw his weight behind the Mirror’s campaign to save our struggling boozers last year, saying that pubs are “hugely important”, and telling us: “They are the places where friends, family, community come together around something which is very British – the pub.

“It’s a place of warmth, of opportunity, to have a nice time with friends, family and for many people to have the friendship and engagement that is so important to their wellbeing. That is uniquely brought together in our pubs, which is why there’s nothing any of us like better than going to the local for a pint, myself included.”

Amy, 38, who was a vet’s receptionist but now runs The Crown Inn full time, often putting in 13 hour shifts behind the bar, couldn’t agree more with our PM. She says: “Pubs are a place of friendship, of solace, of fun – of life. Look around a pub and you’ll see all walks of life – all races, ages, beliefs, genders. They’re somewhere you can come and be completely yourself, with family, friends or even alone. You’ll always find someone to talk to. It’s an extension of your living room. Sir Keir – consider this your invitation to come for a drink anytime!”

When Amy was a little girl, she dreamed of owning an “old man’s pub”. And her childhood wish has come true. And restoring The Crown Inn has been a real family affair.

“I was a bag of crisps and a coke child. I used to go to the pub with my dad, and he’d be chatting away to everyone. I spent loads of time in pubs growing up. It was lovely.

“I’ve got three daughters, Lily, 18, Emily, 16, and Olivia, 14, and they’ve all been collecting glasses in the pub in exchange for scampi fries and a rose lemonade,” laughs Amy, who lives in Reddish with Chris. The couple met 10 years ago through mutual friends.

Chris says: “I came to pubs a bit later in life, when I could drink alcohol. And dad and I used to meet in the pub for a chat – it’s where we’ve had some of our best conversations over the years. So it seems only fitting that we’ve taken over The Crown Inn – and working together has brought us closer than ever. I feel lucky that I get to spend so much time with dad – and Amy.”

The locals are overjoyed too. On opening last August, after six weeks of back-breaking renovations, replastering walls, removing hideous wallpaper, fixing smashed mirrors, and stripping, filling and painting the front, there was a queue out of the door.

“Everyone has been gushing about how much they’d missed this place, and how much it meant to them,” says Alan. “We have a lot of older regulars who rely on the pub for their social life. We opened on Christmas Day and a fair few came in to have someone to talk to. We recently closed on a Monday and have a petition to reopen.”

Now on the calendar is a monthly quiz night and regular bands’ nights, including the local ukulele group, and coming up is a summer of live music, with plans to build an outdoor bar. “We want the place to be packed,” says Chris. “We’re known for our Guinness, punters know they’re going to get a good pint. But our bestseller is actually Bass bitter.”

“My idea,” interjects Alan, “not that I mention it much… We sell Boddington’s too, a beer from Manchester, which I grew up drinking.” As well as the CAMRA award, last week the pub also won ‘most improved pub of the year’ in Stockport and South Manchester.

With such success, could there be another pub on the horizon? “After The Petersgate Tap I said never again… so ask me again in 10 years,” says Chris. “But if we can, we will. Pubs are closing at an alarming rate, which is a shame. I’d love to be part of the change. And thanks to campaigns like the Mirror’s, getting more and more people back to their local pubs, hopefully this is just the beginning of a pub revolution.