Part of our company operates under the name FM Retail and specialises in the provision of bespoke EPOS systems primarily for the fashion industry. We do not (and probably never will) forgive the fact, that the premises this part of the business occupies is a former pub, converted into offices.
The building is in the Lancashire village of Stubbins, which is just North of the town of Ramsbottom. When it was a pub it was called ‘The Corner Pin’ and it was famous for several things:
In 1839, the landlord of the pub created ‘The World Black Pudding Throwing Championships’ – which is a competition that takes place on the second Sunday of September each year and involves seeing who can knock a Yorkshire pudding from the top of a 25-foot high platform by throwing Lancashire black puddings at it.
The competition supposedly dates from the War of the Roses when, in 1456, the Battle of Stubbins took place. The wonderful Lancastrians faced the nasty Yorkists across the River Irwell, and when both sides ran out of ammunition they resorted to throwing each county’s favourite food at each other. True or not? You can be the judge.
The competition fizzled out towards the end of the Nineteenth Century but was revived at the pub in 1984. Unlike some events that claim to be “World” competitions (We're looking at you, USA) this one has actually been won by people from as far afield as Turkey and Australia (We’d love to have been a fly on the wall at the airport when they were asked the reason for their visit to the UK). Sadly, after the pub closed, the competition was moved to the teeming metropolis of Ramsbottom.
The Corner Pin pub is also where the rock band ‘Elbow’ played their first ever gig – and just along the road at the Stubbins Village Chippy, from 1996 you could have seen the young Agyness Deyn working part-time frying chips, before leaving to become an international fashion model and actress.
Running directly past the office is a heritage railway line run by the East Lancashire Railway – it’s not every office you work at where you can look out of the window and see The Flying Scotsman steam past!