Daughter takes over late dad's pub and it's now in The Good Beer Guide

A popular pub has been listed in the Good Beer Guide for the first time. Ye Olde Crown in Burslem used to be run by Shane Ratcliffe, known as Raco, until he passed away in 2022, aged 51.

When he died his wife took over the Westport Road pub. And Raco's daughter, Charlotte Ratcliffe, took control in March.

Now the pub, which sells a range of beers and real Ales including Abbot and Plum Porter from the Burslem-based Titanic Brewery, has been named in the Good Beer Guide 2025. Charlotte told StokeonTrentLive: "I have been running it since March. When my dad died my step mum took over. I did not have my personal licence at the time.

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"It is really good. I am really pleased we have been named in The Good Beer Guide. We did not have a clue that we had been put forward for it.

"We normally have Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby on but we have the Titanic on at the moment. A lot of our customers like real ale. Abbot is our best seller.

"We are nice and steady throughout the week. We do a lot of business on Saturday and Sunday. It is a drinkers' pub."

Customer Steven Churchill, aged 59, of Norton, said: "The beer is brilliant. It is kept very good."

Twenty-three pubs across Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle borough have been included in the 2025 Good Beer Guide. The other 22 are The Bulls Head, St John's Square, Burslem; Johnys Micro Pub, St John's Square, Burslem; The Holy Inadequate, Etruria Old Road, Etruria; The Coachmakers Arms, Lichfield Street, Hanley; The Unicorn Inn, Piccadilly, Hanley; The Victoria Lounge Bar, Adventure Place, Hanley; The Irish Woodman, Goodson Street, Hanley; Artisan Tap, Hartshill Road, Hartshill; The Greyhound, George Street, Newcastle; Sanctuary Ale House, Hartshill Road, Hartshill; The Blue Bell Inn, Hardingswood Road, Kidsgrove; The Crown and Thistle, Liverpool Road, Kidsgrove; The Congress Inn, Sutherland Road, Longton; Boat and Horses, Stubbs Gate, Newcastle; Bridge Street Ale House, Bridge Street, Newcastle; The Cask Bar, Andrew Place, Newcastle; Castle Mona, Victoria Street, Newcastle; Crossways, Ironmarket, Newcastle; Hopinn, Albert Street, Newcastle; Mellards Bar, Market Lane, Newcastle; The Glebe, Glebe Street, Stoke; and The Archer, Church Lane, Wolstanton.

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