The Mosley Arms pub that has registered as a church

In 2022, the pub made headlines when it started to host Sunday morning church services in its function rooms.

This week, we spoke to Bernadette Bates – who has been the landlady of the Mosley Arms, in Breightmet, for four years.

Can you give us some history of the pub?

“I’ve always known this pub here, it’s always been a family-oriented pub, it’s always been part of the community.

“It’s always been a local’s pub, and it’s been that for as long as I can remember.”

What’s it like running the pub?

“Hard work, hard work. But, if you didn’t want to do it, you wouldn’t do it.

“There’s a lot of satisfaction in it.”

Is food served at the pub?

“We do pasties, just Carr’s Pasties – we don’t do food.”

Are there any veggie or vegan options in the pasties?

“There are.”

Is there a beer garden at the pub?

“There is, it’s just a large beer garden with a patio area, with patio seating.”

What’s the most popular drink served at the pub?

“It’s the Joseph Holt lagers I think.”

What’s the most memorable moment at the pub?

“There’s just loads of memorable moments. We open our doors to outside organisations and we got community pub of the year last year [from CAMRA] for that.”

Do you have an entertainment line-up at the pub?

“No, not really. Our function room gets booked up for private parties. We do have entertainment, but it’s not that often because it’s usually booked up with parties.”

The pub hosts church services in its function room

What’s the most challenging part of running a pub in the industry right now, and how can you overcome it?

“To be truthful, it’s getting the custom in and keeping them in. Generating that, and the only way we can do that is by extending the pub – like on Wednesday we do an afternoon drop-in service where we provide warm drinks and snacks free of charge.

“We do a clothes rail, we have – not every week, but once a month – we do a food bank. We have a church that runs every Sunday.

“We have various things going on. We are registered as a church, for about two-and-a-half years.”

What’s the best thing about running the pub and why?

“Being part of the community – I’ve grown up in this area. I know most of the customers that come in with their families, they’re a good bunch, it’s a great area to live, it’s a great pub to meet up in, it’s just a community thing.”

What’s the worst thing about running a pub?

“I wouldn’t say there’s anything that I really dislike that much, otherwise I just wouldn’t do it.”