12 photos show inside charming Derbyshire pub as retired Army Major takes over venue to fulfil life long dream

Major Mark Rimmington and his partner Viv Thomas have taken over the Grapes pub in Belper and are have already made positive changes – with dance classes, skittles matches and quiz nights planned.

Mark, who joined the army aged 16 and served for 38 years, said: “It it has been my lifelong dream to have a pub and now I’m finally doing this.

"I've been looking all over - this was the 47th pub that I looked at. And this is the only one of them all that I found suitable. I saw it and I thought ‘Wow, this is it!’

"This is the pub where I can really make it work. From the clientele, through the people who come in, its location - it was all just saying potential, potential, potential. It is just perfect for me.”

The Grapes is a traditional British pub, which has stood for over 150 years, since the 1870s when it was first built and the opportunity to take over came up after the former landlord, Phil, retired after 20 years.

Mark is not the only one who fell in love with the long history of the pub as his two children – Sophia, 12 and Harvey, 13 enjoy it as well.

Mark said: “The pub hasn't been lived in probably for 20 odd years. Upstairs looks like a bombed out house. Marstons, the brewery is doing lots of work to try and repair that and get it all up to speed and that will start shortly. And the ceilings are only five feet eight, which is hilarious because I'm six feet three.

"But the children think it's hilarious – they say it’s like living with Bear Grylls on an exciting adventure in this really old 1870s pub.”

The kitchen is also getting a makeover and will be introducing food menu and new coffee machine is set to arrive next week.

Mark said: “We'll start with a lunchtime menu to encourage people who work from home to come into the pub at work from here, use the free Wi-Fi have coffee, and not feel isolated at home but be in an area where there are other people to talk to.

"In addition, I will be also using a pub as a warm hub. So in the winter if people can’t afford to have the heating on, the pub will be heated so that will hopefully encourage more people to come to work. I want to make it a centre of the community.”

Mark said people are already coming into the pub and some customers are even trying to learn sign language to talk to Sophia who is deaf.

Mark said: “The Grapes is really local. Lots of people who live in the area come in and make it their pub. Some have met Sophia, who can't hear anything or speak, so she can only use sign language. And it's been brilliant and heartwarming to see all of the locals learning sign language just so they can say ‘we’ve finished with this glass now’, ‘thank you’ or ‘please’ to her.”

Mark will be running the Grapes alongside his partner Viv Thomas, who he met last October while serving in the army in Gibraltar.

He said: “We've initially been just friends. As we spend more and more time together, we fell in love. Now we are partnering with each other in the pub and it’s going really well. Viv is absolutely amazing. She's the Yin to my Yang.”