“Tender set to be launched for one of the most unique opportunities in UK hospitality,” reads the Borough of Barrow at Furness website, which is looking for a new landlord to manage a pub on Piel Island, as well as to claim an ancient, beer-soaked royal throne carved from oak.
The claimant should also be ready to be soaked himself, according to a bizarre tradition, and take up the title of King, and to oversee every degree of comings and goings on the small island on the northwest coast of England.
“Tradition holds that each new landlord is crowned ‘King of Piel’ in a ceremony of uncertain origin,” the Barrow council described in a statement.
Tony Callister, another member of the council, said in an interview that the custom would continue. “The person coming in gets the title of King of Piel, which is nice to have, and there’s no reason for that to change.”
The job requires all 50 acres of island grounds to be tended to, for the Ship Inn pub and kitchens to be managed, and for all guests to be made welcome. Furthermore, potential kings should be prepared for loneliness, as there is only one other permanent resident, and the winter months see few visitors, but many storms.
CHECK OUT Baking Bad: Ex-Cons Are Mentored as Bakers and Now Their Bread is in the Best Restaurants
There are, however, many seals on the island, as well as a derelict 14th-century castle that a Scottish man at the head of a mercenary army once used as a base from which to launch a failed usurpation of the English throne. The castle was originally made by monks, perhaps as a defense, or to store smuggled goods. It’s the failed bid for the throne which historians believe spawned the tradition of proclaiming the Ship Inn landlord King of Piel.
Murky waters
The Ship Inn maintains a website, as well as the following description of the history of the Inn, which is murky and uncertain.
RELATED: This Nissan Worker With ‘Enhanced Senses’ Has a Job to Ensure the Perfect ‘New Car Smell’
“The origins of the Ship Inn are obscure although it is said to be over 300 years old. In 1746 a lease for agricultural land situated within the castle ditch was granted to an Edward Postlethwaite who is described as an innkeeper from the “Pile of Fowdrey.” A description from 1813 paints a vivid picture of the life of the innkeeper at that time.
“‘There is a public-house on the island, the only habitation, tenanted by an old Scotchman, who has been lord of this domain for many years, and goes through the duties of guide and expositor among the ruins of the castle with admirable fluency. The custom of seamen from the roadstead, and the donations of occasional visitors in the summer time support him in a state of which he has no right, he thinks, to complain: but he acknowledged that when there were no vessels in the roadstead he found his situation rather too lonesome, and apt to drive him to his beer-barrel for company.'”
MORE: Become a Wildlife Ranger on Idyllic Island Off Scotland Coast With Free Cottage to Live in
A number of changes and improvements are due to take place on the island from 2022 onwards, including replacing the existing toilet block and considering alternative energy generation as part of the Low Carbon Barrow project, the job application details.
“There’s something incredibly special about Piel Island, it’s certainly a location that is held close to the hearts of so many people across Barrow and the wider area,” former-King Cllr Thomson said.
Barrow hopes to have a new king by the start of April 2022, but to accept so mighty a position requires a ten-year lease.
(WATCH The Previous King Steve Chattaway Don His Golden Crown.)
(LEARN more about the island in the BBC video below.)
SHARE This Opportunity With Friends Who’d Love to See It…