London: A 33-year-old submarine engineer is set to become the landlord of a pub with a unique perk: he will pull pints and be king of a tiny, idyllic island that was once the launchpad for an invasion of England.
Piel Island is half a mile off the Furness peninsula in Cumbria. It has a castle, a few cottages and a pub, the Ship Inn, for which the local council has been seeking a new custodian.
Aaron Sanderson, from Barrow, has been named as the council’s preferred candidate after a recruitment process in which more than 190 people registered an interest. More than 30 people ultimately submitted an application.
The job comes with downsides and upsides. The negatives might be the isolation and running a pub with no mains gas or electricity on an island where there can be more seals than people. Part of the brief is managing and maintaining the whole island.
The upsides are the history, the nature and the large numbers of locals and tourists who flock to the island when the weather is good, either by ferry or guided walk over the sands. Plus the landlord is known as the king or queen of Piel Island with a coronation that involves them sitting on their throne while beer is poured over their head.
The pub is a challenging place to run and was closed for 21 months before reopening under a temporary arrangement last summer.
Sanderson, who works as an electrical team leader at BAE Systems, said many people had been sad to see the pub closed. “I’m looking forward to getting it back up and running and serving visitors … that’s how it should be.
“I have very happy memories of visiting Piel as a child and throughout my life. The prospect of me applying for the role was mentioned and from that point, I couldn’t get it out of my head.
“Personally, it represents both an incredible risk and a wonderful opportunity. I am in a secure and well-paid role, but I am willing to give that up for the chance to bring the glory days back to the Ship Inn.”
Piel Island is a place steeped in fascinating history, most famous for being the launchpad of an invasion of England which, in 1487, involved the arrival of a ragtag army of 8,000 soldiers consisting of English dissidents, poorly equipped Irish fighters and tough German mercenaries.
They were supporting 10-year-old Lambert Simnel who, it was claimed by his Yorkist supporters, was the rightful king of England. They said he was Edward, Earl of Warwick, son of Edward IV’s brother the Duke of Clarence. In truth, the young pretender was the son of an Oxford craftsman.
The army was soon on its way from Piel towards ignominious defeat by Henry VII’s much stronger army at Stoke Field near Newark, considered the final battle of the War of the Roses.
Simnel was a king of Piel and one story says that the landlords running the pub are his direct descendants.
Tradition dictates that the landlord is crowned king in a ceremony involving a rusty sabre and buckets of beer. Any punter who unwittingly sits on the throne has to buy drinks for everyone.
Sanderson said he planned to move to the island with his partner Anita Palfi. A precise date for the reopening has yet to be announced.