21 May 2024
Since they took over The Boot two decades ago, father and son team Will and Sean Hughes reckon the pub has sold more than 2.2 million pints.
Last week they were presented with a Dedication Award from owners Star Pubs in recognition of their milestone anniversary and the £200,000 they have raised on behalf of the local community.
We caught up with Sean to reflect on the past 20 years, and find out more about their plans to celebrate the time running the hostelry.
Flashback to 2004, and Sean was running The Stable Door in old Welwyn village when Will noticed The Boot was up for sale.
“Dad, myself and a few friends went to have a look at The Boot and fell in love with the building. We decided to put an offer in with the owners of The Stable Door. The pub was in a pretty poor condition when we took it over and in a transitional period of ownership which meant it wasn’t looked after. It had one beer on tap, no real ales and seven fruit machines.
“It even had an acrow [a vertical support system] holding up the ceiling – something which cost tens of thousands of plans and eight years of planning consultations to repair with, you guessed it, a permanent acrow with a brick pillar in the cellar!
“Although it had been very busy in the past, the year leading up to my family buying The Boot had been very quiet.”
Once they took over the lease, the Hughes swiftly removed all the fruit machines, and installed 10 real ale pumps and eight draught lines to ensure they could serve the perfect pint.
Drawing on his experiences at The Stable Door, Sean introduced a high-quality wine list using similar products to the Welwyn restaurant to attract a new clientele.
They also started serving food, featuring a traditional menu for lunch and dinner with a focus on fresh fish.
“Our Ploughman’s soon became famous!” Sean recalls.
The more recent Mexican-inspired kitchen came about during the pandemic when they had to introduce an evening menu to adhere with Covid restrictions after re-opening.
Head chef Lloyd Pell had always had a passion for authentic Mexican cooking and decided St Albans needed some decent tacos so The Boot Cantina was born.
But changing perceptions was not as easy as changing barrels: “It took a number of years to change people’s opinion of the pub as it had a bad reputation when we took it over, but we changed that with by starting a Tuesday night music club, listening to the community, introducing a good menu and huge support from locals so it was eventually thriving again.
“Over the years we have won many awards, been part of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide, made many friends and even seen new family members.”
Looking after a Grade II-listed pub with such a rich history must surely carry a weight of responsibility?
“It is an honour looking after this building and has taken a lot of work to keep in in good order to ensure it is here for many generations to come.
“We have been trying to find out who has run the pub over the years and we have met many landlords – including the son of one of the landlords that ran the pub during the Second World War.
“The history is immense, and being on the battlefield of the War of The Roses, we were the first pub in the UK to be honoured by the Battlefield Trust a few years ago.
“We have been lucky to have many favourite customers, people who we first met 20 years ago who still come back today, and it is amazing to still hold onto that community. We have had amazing bands play and many famous visitors including The Hairy Bikers.”
Considering The Boot dates back to the 15th century, Sean is open to the possibility of paranormal activity occurring within the pub’s walls.
“During the three years that I lived above The Boot there were many noises, bangs and unexplained changes in atmosphere.
“I was once told that the wood in old buildings reacts like a tape cassette by holding sounds and releasing them so maybe that is a more rational explanation.
“One of the most interesting things that has happened during our tenure was a phone call on a busy Saturday lunch from a lady in Tasmania who had been researching her family and discovered in the mid-19th century that her great-great-great grandfather tried to murder somebody upstairs.
“Luckily he was unsuccessful but as punishment for attempted murder he was sent to Tasmania at the age of 17.
“Her whole family came to The Boot to visit and see the room where the attempted murder took place. It’s incredible to think about the impact that one night made to her entire family growing up in Tasmania rather than England.”
Looking back over the past 20 years, how have things changed?
“There are many similarities to now as when we had first opened, it is a place for locals and visitors to the city and sits proudly next to the Clock Tower in one of the oldest parts in St Albans. The building itself hasn’t changed but gone are the days when the price of a pint was under £3. When we first arrived you could get four pints of ale for £9.60!
“I feel that there are too many people to thank for their support over this time, but it would be impossible to not mention the incredible Jody Lloyd who managed the pub for way over half of the time we have had it. We have been blessed to have had some amazing people work with us over the years and Lloyd Pell has been with us for nearly 13 of those years too!”
So how has it been working alongside your dad? “Oh God I thought you would ask this. Between a nightmare and a privilege ha ha. It has been amazing working with Dad but we have very different management styles – we have hurled many a plate, beer, spatula at each other over the years!
“Dad loves real ale and music, he’s given The Boot its character and as a family we’ve loved the privilege of running the pub over many years. Working with family is always a challenge but always good to finish the day with.”
To thank residents for their support and mark their 20th anniversary they are kicking off a year-long campaign to raise money for the charity St Albans Community Pantry, which collects surplus food from supermarkets and offer it to those in need through a community fridge and bread pantry.
Sean explained why they chose to support this particular good cause: “We have worked with them for a couple of years. They are a lifeline for some members of our community and all their volunteers work incredibly hard to support the vulnerable. We want to make sure that they are able to continue providing this support.
“We have a year of events planned, including music events, food events, all finishing on the 5th May 2025 (Cinco De Mayo) where we will present St Albans Community Pantry with our funds raised. Keep an eye on our website and Instagram for more information at the beginning of June.
“One of our charity days will bring back some familiar friendly faces from the team over the past 20 years. One definitely NOT to miss!”
Sean added some final thoughts on their time at the pub: “We never thought we’d be here this long but we can’t imagine life without The Boot now. It’s like our home and our staff and customers are like extended family.
“St Albans has an incredible community spirit. We can’t thank people enough for all the backing they’ve given the pub since we started.”
