Wargrave publican becomes Brakspear’s longest-serving landlady after 46 years

A Wargrave landlady has been recognised as pub operator Brakspear’s longest-serving licensee, 46 years after first taking the keys to The Bull.

Jayne Worrall began running the village pub in January 1980, following an eight-year career as cabin crew with BOAC (later British Airways).

Now, nearly half a century later, she says she has no imminent plans to call time, despite the mounting pressures facing the pub trade.

Jayne describes her time at The Bull as her third ‘life’ at the historic inn, having left and returned to the business several times over the decades.

In 1984, she moved to another Brakspear pub, The Rising Sun at Witheridge Hill – where Rod Stewart once fed caviar to her cat – before returning to The Bull in 1998 and staying for a further 10 years.

After a period living in South Devon, she came back to Wargrave for a third time in 2013.

She said: “The Bull draws me back whenever I leave. It’s a wonderful pub supported by an amazing community, and I’ve had such happy times here.”

The Bull, originally a 15th-century coaching inn, was bought in 1779 by brewer Robert Brakspear for £850 as a base for selling his popular beer.

Jayne said the pub industry has changed ‘almost beyond recognition’ since she first arrived behind the bar.

“In the 1980s, everyone went to the pub for lunch – and that usually included at least one beer,” she said.

“We were regularly serving 40 lunch covers, which seems unbelievable today when most people are grabbing sandwiches to eat at their desks.”

Other changes are for the better, including relocating the ladies’ toilets from the garden to inside the pub.

Jayne added: “In winter, I’d take a kettle of water out to unfreeze the toilet pan. That’s something I don’t miss!”

That move was one of many refurbishments made on Jayne’s watch, which have expanded and modernised The Bull while retaining its historic character.

Jayne credits The Bull’s continued success to the strong community support fostered during her four decades at the helm, which she said helped the business through difficult periods, including the Covid pandemic.

“The affection local people hold for the pub has seen us through many ups and downs, including Covid,” said Jayne.

“When we were closed, I was selling 70 takeaway portions of fish & chips on Friday and Saturday evenings and 100 roasts on Sundays.”

Sunday lunch at The Bull has since become well known locally, and Jayne has won Brakspear’s Best Sunday Roast award, as well as Pub of the Year in 2003 and a Director’s Award in 1998.

While Covid cemented The Bull’s place at the heart of Wargrave, it also led to a fundamental change in pub-going habits.

“After lockdown, people’s socialising shifted,” said Jayne.

“Now, we’re busy at 6.00 and by 9.00 or 9.30, the pub can be almost empty. We’re taking the same money, just earlier in the evening than pre-COVID.”

While Jayne remains cautiously optimistic that pubs can survive current challenges, as they have in previous ones, she believes greater government support is urgently needed.

“I’m very proud to be running a pub; it’s a quintessentially British institution,” she said.

“I’ve travelled all over the world, and their bars are fine, but they’re not like our pubs.

“So it makes me sad that so many pubs are having to shut their doors.

“Running a pub is a way of life, and we love what we do – but we can’t keep doing it if we’re losing money.

“The government’s movement on business rates is welcome, but we need more lasting support that recognises the vital importance of pubs to their communities.”

For more information about The Bull in Wargrave, including bookings, visit the pub’s website.