Ancient Oldham pub celebrates 300 years

The Old Original Pub in Saddleworth

A popular hillside hostelry in Saddleworth is celebrating a unique milestone.

The  Old Original Inn, Doctor Lane, Scouthead, has notched up 300 years of serving discerning customers fine ales and more recently fine meals. 

The pub holds the oldest licence in Saddleworth and was first licensed in 1722 when Edmund Buckley decided to offer hospitality to travellers on the major moorland route linking Lancashire to Yorkshire. 

The licence was transferred for a while when the new “turnpike” road - now the A62 - was  built to the nearby Star Inn which stood at Scouthead crossroads. 

But later the landlord decided he had had enough at The Star and returned business back to Thurston Clough Road, to what he called then “The Old Original” or “t’howd Orgin” as  christened by locals. 

The pub has only had 22 operating landlords over the entire 300 years and 13 of those were from three periods of ownership of the same family.

Among the distinguished line-up of landlords was Peter Marner, the well-respected cricketer for Lancashire and Leicestershire, who ran the pub from1971 to 1991. 

During Peter’s tenure the pub gained a reputation for its food which in those times was unusual for a public house. In the mid-nineties it became known as a fish restaurant, but operated very limited hours.  

In 1998 Tom Harrop became landlord and he, together with his family, extended the menu, introducing new dishes and built an unrivalled reputation for quality steaks.

And Tom, a former master butcher with immense  knowledge of  beef, celebrated the pub’s 300th with a stylish black-tie dinner  surrounded by his family and loyal long standing customers. 

He said: “I’m proud to carry on the pub’s long held tradition of serving our customers quality ales and excellent food.”

His son, Richard, father of four, the pub’s  assistant manager, added: “I’m delighted we are are part of such distinguished heritage - here’s to the next 300 years.”

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