Pub near Dudley famous for its Christmas lights reopened by the former landlord of Rishi Sunak's local

The Summer House in Sedgley, near Dudley, closed four months ago, with former licensees Amy and Rory Harper blaming rising brewery costs.

It has now been taken over by husband-and-wife team Craig and Claire Morris, who previously kept a pub in Wensleydale, North Yorkshire, where the former prime minister sometimes dropped in for lunch.

Craig, 55, who grew up in Dudley and previously kept the Seven Stars a short distance up the road, said the pub would be offering a variety of home-cooked food and a choice of real ales.

But he said he would not be able to commit to reintroducing the spectacular Christmas lights displays until the pub was on a stable financial footing.

The pub, which reopened last week for drinks only, is cooking its first Sunday lunches today (April 4) and will be launching a full food menu from tomorrow.

Craig said: “We have had to turn it around from the bottom up, it had been closed for four months and was in quite a bad way.

“We have completely redecorated it, and moved the dining room back to the front of the pub, where it used to be, and the bar back to the side.

“We will be cooking everything from a ham roll to a full tomahawk steak, it will all be home cooked, and will change regularly.

“At the moment we have four real-ale pumps; we started with Wye Valley HPA and Butty Bach, we will be adding Salopian Lemon Dream and Black Sheep. Our plan is to have a total of six real ales on.”

The pub also serves seven Scrumpy ciders and a range of lagers.

Craig said he had worked in pubs for most of his life, growing up behind the Hilly House in Himley Road, where he pulled his first pints and later became assistant manager.

He and Claire, 47, previously kept a pub in Wensleydale which was frequented by the former prime minister when he went walking in the hills.

“It was in his constituency, and he was part of the community, he used to go on walks in the Dales and would sometimes come in for lunch,” he said.

“His security team would usually give us a heads up a day or two in advance, and we would clear a quiet area.”

During his time in Yorkshire Craig also worked with Jeremy Clarkson promoting his Hawkstone beer range.

“We felt we had taken that pub as far we could, and we returned to the Midlands to take care of my mum,” he said.

“I knew The Summer House from when I kept the Seven Stars, back in 1999. Everyone knew it for the Christmas lights, the views from the back, and the horses.

“When I saw it was for sale, I said to Claire ‘that pub never comes up for sale’. She just said ‘I will trust your judgement’.”