Chris Herring and Mark Hindwood, publicans of the Stirrup Cup, on Woodland Avenue in Barton Seagrave, have been awarded the British Institute of Innkeeping’s (BII) Heart of the Community Award in recognition for their hard work supporting their community during lockdown from March to July this year.
 
Chris, Mark and their team of volunteers got to work straight away when lockdown started in March, putting food parcels together to deliver to the vulnerable people in his community. Hailed as a lifeline to those most in need, Chris and Mark continued to support their community throughout the three month period, sparing countless people the risk of leaving their homes.
 
The Heart of the Community award is uniquely not about competing companies or individuals against each other and recognises all those the industry body believes have gone above and beyond for their communities. Chris is one of just 40 national recipients to have been recognised so far this year.
 
Chris said: “We’re so proud and honoured to have been awarded this accolade by the British Institute of Innkeeping! Our pub has always been about the community and we are part of many initiatives and groups in our local area, so it was a complete no-brainer to help out our most vulnerable during lockdown.”
 
Mark continued “We’re obviously devastated to close our doors again, but we will continue to support our customers in whatever way we can before we come back stronger than ever in December. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back again and to share Christmas with our community.”
 
The Stirrup Cup, Woodland Avenue, Barton Seagrave, Kettering, Northants, NN15 6QR
 
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