It survived a 'mysterious curse' and has now been crowned Pub of The Year

A pub which has been through recessions, lockdowns and even fire has been awarded pub of the year in Wirral.

The Magazine Hotel, which has stood on Magazine Brow in the Wallasey suburb since 1759, had been given the honour by CAMRA. Over the years, The Magazine has also won countless awards including being featured in The Good Beer Guide.

Being one of the oldest pubs in Merseyside, the venue has been through a lot and recently managers Stephen Brady and Mary Goddard have spruced up the offering. The couple, who have worked in the pub for more than two decades, have started pub food, have spruced up beer garden, put on outdoor barbecues and launched a beer and cider festival.

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Steve Brady has worked in the pub for 25 years, starting off behind the bar in 1998 and becoming landlord in 2012. He said: "I’m delighted that we’ve won CAMRA’s Wirral Pub Of The Year for 2024. I’m really proud of the many awards we’ve won, including the regional CAMRA awards and being one of their best pubs in the country.

"Our pub has so much character and is ideally located on the banks of the Mersey but we can’t just rely on that — we need to be constantly improving." He added: "I’ve seen the pub go through so many changes such as different breweries, price and energy cost increases, recessions, lockdowns and even a fire but it’s stood the test of time.

"It was built in 1759 and has so much history — I’ve kept its character but have made ongoing improvements and adapted with the times." The ECHO previously reported that the Magazine was almost destroyed in a fire which caused £200,000