Cricket stars' pub rises up again from the ashes

Harry Gurney pictured outside the Tap and Run as the rebuild job continues this week

The Melton Times was this week given a tour of the Tap and Run, at Upper Broughton, to see how the project is going.

It made national headlines back in June 2022 when the blaze happened because the pub is owned by England cricketers Stuart Broad and Harry Gurney.

The pub had created such a good reputation for beer, wine and food since it opened in early 2019 that they had little hesitation in rebuilding it.

A photo taken by Harry Gurney as he arrived at the scene of the devastating fire at his Tap and Run pub last June

They did consider a rename, however, with a nod to their stellar cricketing careers.

Harry told the Melton Times: “We did consider renaming it The Ashes or even The Second Innings.

“But the Tap and Run has built such a good reputation we decided to stick with that.”

He added: “It is likely to be late May or early June when everything is ready and we are really excited about getting back open.”

Harry Gurney pictured this week in the bar area as the rebuild job continues at the Tap and Run pub

Most of the old team will be returning under the management of Jack Whitehead.

The exterior will look very much as it did before although various alterations being made inside include the bar being moved so it faces the front door, the ceiling raised slightly and a staircase to the guest toilets relocated.

It has been a tough few years for the pub trade with the Covid pandemic causing them to close for extended periods.

The Tap and Run recovered well from that only to be hit by the fire and it will reopen with all the challenges of the cost of living crisis and other economic pressures,

The burned out shell of the Tap and Run after the blaze last June

“Staff costs are increasing with the minimum wage increasing in April and inflation is through the roof,” said Harry, who retired nearly two years ago after excelling as a one-day international and club cricketer.

“Building costs have risen too and we will probably spend about £1.3million on the rebuild.”

The cause of the blaze was ‘self-heating tea towels’ - the residual grease in a pile of tea towels had heated up while they sat in a dryer in the pub.

The memories of first hearing about the blaze are still crystal clear for Harry.

From left, Stuart Broad, Dan Cramp and Harry Gurney pictured in February 2019 as they opened the Tap and Run at Upper Broughton

“I got a call from Jack who said ‘apparently the pub is on fire’,” he recalled.

“When I got to Wymeswold, which is about five miles away, I could see smoke in the sky.

“It was pretty for traumatic to see the fire.

“It was pretty clear that it was totally destroyed although we did save the ground floor external walls.”

Stuart was in the middle of playing a Test match for England against New Zealand at Trent Bridge.

Harry supervised the aftermath of the fire and was heartened by the response of locals.

He said: “The support from the local community has been brilliant.

“They had a whip round and raised over £1,000 for the team here, which we will be distributing to them when we reopen.

“We had so many messages of support.

“I played for England and had lots of big games in my cricket career but I never had as many text messages as when the pub caught fire.”