Nigel Barker
The Wellington - Bennetts Hill

Nigel (Noige to his friends) was born in October 1958 at 10pm. His first words were reported to be "Am I in time for last orders ? Five pints of Bass please." Eleven months later, he learned how to walk home. He spent his first years in Newcastle-Under-Lyme in Staffordshire and after a number of house moves, settled in Derby in 1976.

Noige's first bar job was at the Woodlands in Allestree, followed by the Byron in Normanton, Derby for 63p an hour. Whilst working at the Byron, he experienced the pleasure of real ale (sadly at other establishments) and was unsurprisingly tempted by an offer of work at the Mafeking, a real ale emporium, for the princely sum of £1 an hour.

After a seven year apprenticeship, Noige found himself ready for pub management and took the helm at the Dolphin in Derby in 1984, with his mum and dad. With a very buoyant food trade (Noige scarcely saw daylight until 1995) and an ever-increasing real ale customer base, the Dolphin flourished for ten and a half years. Noige also became involved in Derby CAMRA as their branch Chairman (two years) and beer festival Chairman (two years). At this time, Noige also established the "Barker Inns" pub group, a chain that included the Victoria, Lion & Lamb and Brighton in Sparkbrook and the Peacock in Highgate.

In March 1995, the Barton's Arms beckoned to Noige and he moved to Birmingham. At the time, the Barton's was a run down pub in a terrible area. Noige and his team embarked upon a serious clean and refurbishment of the pub. The ceiling in the bar area was originally to be British racing green, until the top row of tiles were cleaned and revealed themselves to be turquoise. They had appeared to be green after years of nicotine staining.

The Barton's was a difficult pub to run and in Noige's time off, he used to enjoy visiting the hostleries in Birmingham City Centre. Throughout that time, he was often heard to remark that "Birmingham really needs a real ale freehouse", closely followed by "What did I just say ? Remind me..."

Running a freehouse in Birmingham continued to be an ambition for Noige. After leaving the Barton's, he ran the King George V in Walsall, the Silk Mill in Derby and the Pattenmakers in Duffield. In 2000, he moved to the Stag in Bloxwich. The Stag was a Beautiful 1930s pub that was barely trading. Noige took the pub from strength to strength, with a superb menu and a comprehensive list of real ales. He offered accommodation at the stag and as a result, realised how wide his appreciative audience had become. The Stag beer festivals were legendary and were visited by drinkers from all over the West Midlands and beyond.

After leaving the Stag, Noige moved briefly to the Great Western in Deppers Bridge, Warwickshire. The Great Western was a food-oriented pub, which was remarkably difficult to find (particularly for Noige, after rare but good days out).

Late in 2004, Noige's dream to open a freehouse in Birmingham began to come to fruition. Angus McMeaking of Black Country Ales took over the Wellington in Bennetts Hill, Birmingham and offered Noige the opportunity to run it for him. After a brief (but effective) refurb, Noige moved in, ready to open on November 30th. Sadly, various legal issues prevented opening on that day and we were forced to wait and wait....

On Friday December 17th, the Wellington finally opened. Noige got the go-ahead late on Friday afternoon and had to divert his only full-time member of staff back from Oxford in a hurry to serve beer. He had made the brave decision to open with ten beers, but within weeks had to upgrade to fifteen, due to tremendous demand. Noige's conviction that a freehouse was needed in Birmingham was clearly not misplaced. The Wellington continues to offer a selection of fifteen real ales, three draught ciders and a scary number of bottled beers. In 2005, Noige and his partner chalked up 2610 beers. In 2006, after taking in more 18 gallon barrels, the total was 2335.

Noige has often offered his services as "The Birmingham Real Ale Tzar" to local pubs. Many of Birmingham's hostelries have taken on real ale at his recommendation and have seen their trade flourish, as has the Wellington's. If you are ever passing the Wellington, a pint is mandatory. Having said that, no-one has ever managed to visit for just one. Noige and the team will make you very welcome. And as Noige would say, "It would be rude not to..."

Sally Lavender
friend and colleague for 15 years.

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Last modified: 03/11/07