Raise glass to Hartlepool Mail Pub of the Year winner

Claire Stephenson, landlady of The Globe, has been presented with the Mail’s title for the third year in a row after customers gave it their backing.

It beat 53 other venues across the area to scoop the accolade, with the Nursery Inn in second place and third in the voting given to The New Inn.

The Northgate bar was bought by Claire in the same year it won the award for the first time and is now run with the help of a five-strong team.

She said: “I think there’s more competition this year, especially from pubs which serve food when we’re just a traditional pub up against some big trendy places, so we were quite surprised.

“I got this pub because I loved it and I won’t be changing it.

“We’ve won this for the third year running, so it shows people like what we do.”

Photo gallery: Raising a glass to Hartlepool’s pubs and clubs both past and present

While the free house, which offers Camerons Strongarm as its ‘banker’ regular ale, a host of lagers and 32 gins, underwent a refit last year, but Claire says the bar’s future remains with its proven hospitality.

She added: “We will be keeping it traditional and it will always be at the heart of the community.

“We don’t do food, we don’t allow in children, but we are very dog-friendly and have the darts and dominos, we have a football team, we have people who play Bridge and Crib and other card games, and people come in to play those.

“The sound of our pub is hearing the dominos on the table and the darts hitting the board.

“We’ve got two big fires going in the winter, so it’s nice and cosy and then in the summer we have an outside area with a beer garden out the back for people to sit in the sun,

“It’s fully focused on our regulars, they keep coming into the pub and it’s the kind of place which attracts good people and good people are what I think makes it.

“They’ve been a big support and everybody has been voting and been asking when we’ll be getting the trophy and certificate to put with the others.”