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Polite Vicar swears by new look

21 December 2017

Polite Vicar swears by new look

A clergyman has reopened a pub following a £280,000 refurbishment – decades after his impeccable manners inspired the name.

The Reverend Ian Gregory - former Minister at Newcastle-under-Lyne Congregational Church - was on hand as the Polite Vicar, in Basford, unveiled its fresh new look and updated menu.

The 84-year-old, from Hartshill, had earned the moniker back in the 1980s when he founded the National Campaign for Courtesy – a movement that aimed to encourage people to be more polite.

And he was invited to be the special guest after managers Mike and Louise Dargan went on a mission to find out the reason behind the pub’s unusual name.

Mr Gregory, a congregational minister, said: “It is a pleasure for me to be associated with this refurbished pub. What a privilege to have it named in connection with my role as patron in chief of the National Campaign for Courtesy. It is a great surprise for me to be notable in the name of a public house.

“The whole campaign started when some friends of mine went to the Far East and came back saying they had experienced exceptionally good manners.

“We found people over here could be a bit rude so I founded the polite society.”

The Etruria Road pub had been closed for three weeks while the revamp was carried out.

(The story was first used in The Sentinel on Monday 23rd October 2017 - Story & Images used with kind permission of Staffordshire Sentinel News & Media)