Derbyshire community welcomes back the historic Abbey Inn

The Abbey Inn has enjoyed a warm reception from the local community after the five year hiatus that the pub underwent whilst looking for new management.

The pub, in Darley Abbey, has a coveted history as a Grade II listed building dating back to around the 1500s, after being built as an extension of the 1100s Monastery that previously surrounded what we know as The Abbey Inn today.

The historical significance of the pub is one of the main attractions for history enthusiasts as well as those who like to drink in a medieval setting.

While the history may seem new and intriguing to those unfamiliar with the popular Darley Abbey pub, campaigners on the other hand fought for five years to save it, after it underwent a significant restoration at the expense of ex-landlord Mike Wood before being sold to Samuel Smith Breweries.

Fiona Ashley, 48, and Nathan Ashley, 49 are the new landlords of the pub, and they told Derbyshire Live about the buzzing custom they've received since reopening the pub, Fiona said: "We've had nothing but thanks, everybody is loving it. People are coming in and all joining up to play games together. We've had people travelling from a far, we had quite a few American groups come in and people from all over really.

"People have come from a lot of different places across the UK to see us, and they have loved it so far. While Mondays and Tuesdays can be quite quiet, come Wednesday night we are busy until Sunday teatime so there is a lot to do. People have really welcomed us back."

The pub is also unique in the sense that it holds a variety of unique rules as it is a part of Samuel Smith's breweries, therefore the pub doesn't allow people to go on their phones and labels itself as a "digital detox" zone in order to encourage conversation and community cohesion in the pub.

Fiona shared how customers have reacted to the unusual rules that the pub enforces, she said: "People love it, when they first come in they always say well how can you control me. But after awhile they start to love it as they get talking to each other and I've had people coming up to me telling me that they used to slag off the no phone rule, but after trying it they spoke to people they never usually would have with my phone.

"A load of people come in with no one to talk to, and they get in and they get in and manage to start up conversation. It's really nice to see."

As a part of the reopening, the ancient inn will now be serving food as a kitchen is being set up, according to the landlords.

The landlady has also announced that they will be hosting a charity event on Monday November 11 starting at 8pm, in support of Help for Heroes. The event entails a raffle where winners of the £1 draw will be able to pick a game provided by the pub as well as raffle prizes such as a free MOT, Derby County merchandise.