The closing of Ridley's brewery hit the family quite hard. At the time I was an accountant in London rushing around in the rat race. After some thinking time in New Zealand I realised how important my heritage was and it was then that I took the leap of leaving London to get back to what my name represented in Essex. What better pub to be the landlord of than The Compasses known as The Ridley's Brewery Tap.
I took on a wonderfully traditional pub and with it came some loyal punters and brilliant staff who gave me a warm welcome. Thanks to a combination of love and commitment for the place we are doing very well having introduced a beer festival each year and now starting the new venture of Bed and Breakfast.
I just want to say thank you to everyone for making me feel at home, thank you for your sense of humour along the way and for making everyone feel welcome and for your help making the pub the success that it is.
