A couple takes on a rundown pub owned by the eccentric Humphrey Smith, revealing a neglected empire and raising questions about his motivations.
Since the 1970s, Humphrey Smith has acquired scores of pubs and historic properties around the UK. But time after time, he has left the buildings empty. Why has he allowed his empire to moulder? n early September 2022, Alivia Bienko and her husband, Liam, were driving through Stamford Bridge, an idyllic village on the River Derwent, near, when a shuttered pub caught their eye. Stuck to one of the windows was an A4 sheet advertising for a couple to live in and manage the pub.
On the advert was a mobile number for Samuel Smith, the brewery that owned the pub. Founded in 1758, Samuel Smith Old Brewery is one of the largest family-owned brewery and pub operations in the UK. Bienko had experience in hospitality, and she and Liam were open to a change. They decided to look into the job. Online, they came across a few stories of couples who had been thrown out of their jobs running Samuel Smith’s pubs, largely for “missing money or missing beer”, Bienko said. Nothing unusual about that. But when the couple dialled the number on the advert, they were surprised to find themselves speaking to Humphrey Smith, the stupendously wealthy chairman of the company, who has been in charge since the 1970s. “He said, ‘I can come and meet you tomorrow’,” Bienko told me. “It was very odd and we were very nervous, because we were living in a small caravan and here was a millionaire coming to visit us.” The next morning, Smith, a small man in his late 70s, dressed in a dark business suit, showed up at the couple’s caravan in the EastThe meeting was strange. “It was like he was warning us,” Bienko said. “He was asking: ‘Are you sure it’s right for you?’.” The following day, Smith met them at the pub, the New Inn, and handed over the keys. Inside, the couple discovered the scale of the job ahead of them. “It was an absolute shambles. Two years’ worth of dust,” Bienko sai
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The Curious Case of Humphrey Smith and His Empty PubsAn article explores the story of Humphrey Smith, the chairman of Samuel Smith's brewery, who has acquired numerous pubs and historic properties over the years, yet allowed most of them to remain empty. It focuses on the experience of Alivia Bienko and her husband, Liam, who were hired to manage one such pub, the New Inn in Stamford Bridge.
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