Our History

The Staffordshire Bull opened its doors in June 1978 as the very first Greenall Whitley pub in Staffordshire. Built on Parkside in Stafford for more than £106,000, it was a custom-built, one-roomed pub with darts, pool, a TV area, horse-shoe alcoves, vaulted ceilings, and a small patio for drinking beer from the wood in the summer.

The first customer wasn't who you'd expect. It was a dog.

The newspaper advertising feature from our opening week, June 1978. Open the full-size scan to zoom in and read it.

The First Customer Was a Dog

Bruce, properly known as Brintiga of Shermor, was a Staffordshire Bull Terrier owned by Morris and Shirley Simpson of Queensville. As Greenall's sales director Derek Bell put it on the day: "What better way to open a pub called The Staffordshire Bull than to ask a local champion?"

Bruce was chaperoned to the official opening by Morris and Shirley, kept a stiff upper lip through the speeches, and only broke composure when it came to sampling the refreshing brew. The Simpsons had been breeding Staffordshire Bull Terriers for years and had recently turned down an open cheque from an American for him.

“He's a superb dog and we don't want to get rid of him.”

Shirley was presented with a model of a Staffordshire Bull Terrier by Derek Bell after the opening. Bruce got the pint.

Opening day, June 1978. Shirley Simpson with Bruce and the presentation trophy, Morris Simpson behind, and the new licensees Noreen and Graham Battam on the right with a tray of pints. Open full-size.

Mine Hosts: Graham and Noreen Battam

The pub's first licensees were Graham and Noreen Battam, a young couple who'd previously kept the Lion and Railway in Northwich. Graham, then 31, hailed from Luton and had come up through the catering trade as a commis-waiter in London, then restaurant manager at the Esso Hotel in Runcorn and later the Mollington Bannister in Chester.

Graham and Noreen lived above the pub with their three children, Glen, Dale and Kathryn, and ran the Staffordshire Bull with a staff of ten. Noreen, also 31, set out to make it a family pub from day one, with lunchtime snacks and evening meals — basket meals like turkey, chicken and scampi.

“We want to make it a family public house and also cater for the daytime trade.”

Old Name in Brewing, New in Town

Greenall Whitley was already an old name in brewing by the time the Staffordshire Bull opened. The company started in St Helens in 1762, founded by a local maltster, Thomas Greenhalgh — later known as Greenall. He set up a second brewery at Wilderspool, Warrington in 1787. The two breweries ran independently until 1880, when they were incorporated together under the Greenall Whitley name.

By 1978, Greenall Whitley was the biggest independent regional brewery in the UK, with around 1,400 pubs and off-licenses stretching from Carlisle down through the North West and North Wales to the Midlands. The Staffordshire Bull was their first toehold in Staffordshire.

Beer from the Wood

The opening feature made a point of it: the Staffordshire Bull was selling beer from the wood, brewed the same way in 1978 as it had been in 1878. Real hops, malted barley, yeast, and the traditional method. Greenall Whitley sold more beer from the wood at the time than any other brewer in the country.

The pint glass on the page came with a chorus of cheering bottled-beer names: Local Bitter, Mild, Bull's Eye, Red Rose, Champion, Festival, Old Chester, and Grünhalle.

The Builders

A few of the local firms who built the place got their congratulations in print:

• Mayer Construction of Cannock — main contractors. They cleared the ground in September 1977 and had the pub open by June 1978.
• L.B.J. (Electrical Engineering Contractors) Ltd, St. Albans Road, Stafford — all electrical installations.
• Nightingale Signs (Blackburn) Ltd, Lower Darwen — the distinctive signage. "Quality Does Count."

Almost Fifty Years On

The Staffordshire Bull has changed hands and changed groups over the decades, and the Greenall Whitley name is long gone from the brewing trade. But the pub is still here, still on Parkside, still selling pints to locals who think of it as their second living room.

It's now part of the Stonegate Group, with Julie and Steve running it day-to-day for the last nine years. Read about the pub today, or come and see it in person — find us at Parkside.

If you have your own memories, photos or memorabilia from the early days of the Staffordshire Bull, we'd love to hear from you. Drop us a line.