Woolpack
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| The Woolpack | |
|---|---|
 The exterior of The Woolpack |
|
| First appearance | 16 October 1972 |
| Type | Public house |
| Owner | Chastity Spencer (50%) Diane Sugden (50%) |
| Address | Main Street, Emmerdale |
| Employees | 4 (currently) |
The Woolpack is a fictional public house on the popular ITV soap opera Emmerdale. Its sign is a wool bale, a popular symbol in sheep-rearing country. It has played host to many of the soap's storylines and is the focus of the programme. It is the second oldest TV soap pub, opening its doors in October 1972 and being preceded by The Rovers Return Inn which opened in December 1960 and succeeded by The Queen Victoria which opened in February 1985. The Woolpack is the only soap pub to have changed locations as part of a story-line. In 1976, the original Woolpack was found to be suffering from subsidence. Another building was bought by landlords Amos Brearly and Henry Wilks and made its debut as The Woolpack later the same year. This was to cover Emmerdale Farm's move from Arncliffe to Esholt for location filming.
The first Woolpack was the Falcon Inn in Arncliffe. When the outdoor scenes were moved to Esholt in 1976 the Commercial Inn was chosen as the new Woolpack. The present Woolpack is on the purpose-built Emmerdale village set on the Harewood estate which is based on Esholt.
The 1993 plane crash saw the Woolpack wine bar demolished trapping many people inside and paralysing Chris Tate from the waist down. It was also involved in the storm of 2003 where the roof was struck by lightning which caused the chimney to fall through the roof causing a window to collapse and fall on Tricia Dingle, which eventually resulted in her death.
Contents |
The Malt Shovel
For many years the Woolpack had a rival pub in the village called The Malt Shovel which was supposedly slightly downmarket compared to the Woolpack. Episodes in which the Malt Shovel have been mentioned include The Plane Crash and The Storm ones. The Malt Shovel was later redeveloped into an upmarket bar, Malt, to the chagrin of then Woolpack landlady Val Pollard.
Current employees
| Occupation | Character | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Joint Landladies (50%) | Diane Sugden | 1999— (14 years) |
| Chas Spencer | 2011— (2 years) | |
| Bar staff | Bernice Blackstock | 1999–2002, 2012— (4 years) |
| Chas Spencer | 2003–2005, 2006— (9 years) | |
| Alicia Metcalfe | 2010— (3 years) | |
| Priya Sharma | 2012— (1 year) | |
| Chef | Marlon Dingle | 2001— (12 years) |
Past employees
| Occupation | Character | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Landlord | Amos Brearly | 1973–1991 (18 years) |
| Henry Wilks | 1973–1991 (18 years) | |
| Alan Turner | 1991–1999 (8 years) | |
| Bernice Blackstock | 1999–2002 (3 years) | |
| Louise Appleton | 2002–2006 (4 years) | |
| Val Lambert | 2006–2011 (5 years) | |
| Barstaff | Amos Brearly | 1972–1991 (19 years) |
| Henry Wilks | 1972-1991 (19 years) | |
| Archie Brooks | 1986–1990 (4 years) | |
| Annie Sugden | 1989–1994 (5 years) | |
| Alan Turner | 1990–1999 (9 years) | |
| Terry Woods | 1995–1998 (3 years) | |
| Marlon Dingle | 1998–2002 (4 years) | |
| Bob Hope | 2001–2007 (6 years) | |
| Louise Appleton | 2001–2006 (5 years) | |
| Rodney Blackstock | 2004–2006 (2 years) | |
| Jack Sugden | 2004-2008 (4 years) | |
| Robert Sugden | 2004–2005 (1 year) | |
| Paul Lambert | 2004–2009 (5 years) | |
| Toni Daggert | 2005–2007 (2 years) | |
| Jo Sugden | 2005–2007 (2 years) | |
| Val Pollard | 2006–2009, 2012 (4 year) | |
| Jasmine Thomas | 2006–2008 (2 years) | |
| Lexi King | 2007–2009 (2 years) | |
| Moira Barton | 2009–2012 (3 years) | |
| Jimmy King | 2010 (1 year) | |
| Chefs | Annie Sugden | 1989–1994 (5 years) |
| Carlos Diaz | 2000–2001 (1 year) | |
| Robert Sugden | 2004–2005 (1 year) | |
| Val Pollard | 2006–2009 (3 years) | |
| Moira Barton | 2009–2012 (3 years) |
Moira Barton: 2009-2012 Jimmy King: 2010 Lexi King: 2007-2009
Key events
- 1973: Amos Brearly and Henry Wilks become Landlords of the Woolpack.
- 1976: The Woolpack is found to be suffering from subsidence. New premises are found in the village.
- 1978: Landlord Amos Brearly and Henry Wilks are held at gunpoint by armed robbers who steal the takings.
- 1980: Seth Armstrong, who first appeared in 1978, switches from the Malt Shovel to the Woolpack, becoming a regular bar-propper and a thorn in Amos's side.
- 1983: Amos takes up golf.
- 1986: Two lady strippers are booked by Seth Armstrong, much to Amos' annoyance. They cause a riot amongst the customers and the pub ends up completely trashed.
- 1989: Amos tries to enlist newcomer Frank Tate to appear in the annual village show.
- 1991: Amos retires, ending an 18 year partnership, Henry later dies, Alan Turner becomes Landlord.
- 1993: The wine bar is demolished by the plane crash, paralysing Chris Tate.
- 1998: The pub is burnt down after Tricia Stokes accidentally sets it on fire with sparklers.
- 1999: Diane and Bernice Blackstock become landladies.
- 2000: Bernice marries Ashley on Christmas Day.
- 2002: After her failed marriage to Ashley, Bernice Thomas sells her half to Louise Appleton and leaves Emmerdale.
- 2004: The Woolpack roof falls through after it is struck by lightning, crushing Tricia Dingle who later dies in hospital. Diane marries Jack.
- 2006: Louise sells her half to Diane's sister Valerie Lambert.
- 2008: Val marries Eric.
- 2009: Val sells her share of the pub to Diane, making Diane the sole Landlady.
- 2010: Diane sells the pub to Nicola King and her husband Jimmy
- 2010: Jimmy and Nicola return the pub to Diane
- 2011: Diane sells 50% of the pub to Chastity Dingle
