Running a pub is a time-consuming thing to do. So spare a thought for Tom Coward. He runs two of them.

Tom has been in charge at The Blue Bell in Dalston for three and a half years.

Last June he took over Belle Vue’s pub: The Museum Inn, on Moorhouse Road.

“I was looking for another pub,” he says. “I just thought this was the one. I saw the huge potential. The location. The amount of chimney pots. But it needed a lot of work.”

The Museum has been providing refreshment on Carlisle’s western edge since the late 1700s.

In the early 1900s landlord Irving Blaylock displayed his collection of stuffed birds and animals in glass cabinets throughout the pub, hence its current name.

Tom and the pub’s owner, brewery Greene King, were determined to keep its character while giving it a new lease of life.

The Museum was closed for 10 days in September to undergo a complete refurbishment.

This included new decor, carpets, furniture, lights, signs and alterations to the bar.

A new menu featuring home-cooked meals is about to be introduced.

“Trade has increased a lot since the refurb,” says Tom. “We had a good Christmas and a good start to this year.

“The pub is well supported. There’s a lot of local drinkers. And people from all over Carlisle use it for food.”

So how does he run two pubs five miles apart, one in a village, one in a city?


Tom Coward “I split my time pretty much between the two,” he says. “It’s not a problem. I’ve got good staff. Julie Littlewood and Emma Dowson are managers at The Museum.

“They’re two totally different pubs. The Blue Bell is a village pub with a restaurant.

“The Museum is more a community pub. Food trade is growing a lot.”

Tom has been in the pub trade for 10 years.

What’s the secret of success?

“It’s got to be attractive to all different types of people.

“At The Museum we get a lot of guys in to watch football and boxing in the bar.

“David Haye v Tony Bellew was a big night. Anthony Joshua v Wladimir Klitschko next month will be another one.

“It’s a big enough pub to have different areas with different atmospheres.

“If you want a quiet coffee you can have one. There’s a lot more families and women using it.

“It has fulfilled the potential I knew it had and it’s something that will grow.”

The Museum is helping to raise money for Eden Valley Hospice.

Raffle tickets are being sold with a TV as first prize, to be drawn on Easter Sunday.

In January charity firewalkers hot-footed it across the pub’s car park. Staff from Scott Duff & Co Solicitors and Carlisle telecommunications firm Online Systems led a group of 18 people across hot coals.

The firewalkers were supported by dozens of family members and friends. The event helped to raise about £1,000 for the hospice.

“I took part in a firewalk at the Blue Bell last year,” says Tom. “As long as you keep going you’re all right. I wouldn’t fancy stopping.”