The Bell Hotel in Clare, between Haverhill and Sudbury, enters a fresh era with new licensees

The new licensees of a 450-year-old pub say they want to make it feel like home to any customer who steps over the threshold.

Kyle Parry and his partner Amy Williams took over the lease at The Bell Hotel in Clare – between Haverhill and Sudbury – early last week and are already welcoming customers, albeit only for drinks and snacks for now as the kitchen will not open until February 7.

The couple have been temporarily running The Anchor in Rowhedge, near Colchester, since July but were looking for a long-term opportunity and when they learned that The Bell was available they went for it.

Kyle said he was ‘born into pubs’ due to his father’s long history in the trade, while he has been involved with running the Loughton RBL Club, in Essex, for some 15 years – a pub so-called because it used to be a Royal British Legion Club.

Having arrived in Clare and with plans to make the pub their full-time residence, not just a business, Kyle, who was raised in London’s East End, said: “A lot of the ideas (for the pub) is what we have implemented in our previous pubs so it’s stuff we already know.

“It’s basically a case of what will work in Clare.”

Amy said: “We are not managers just coming in to do a job, we are owners of the business.

“This is our home. When you walk through that door you are walking into our home. This is our living room so we want you to respect it like you would if it was your home.”

Being self-confessed foodies, Kyle said they want to offer freshly prepared food – they will not even use a freezer – and will be looking to source ingredients as locally as possible.

Good quality meat will continue to be bought at Smithfields Market, in London, by Kyle – who is also a skilled butcher – and prepared and cooked on site by either himself or Amy.

With the pub’s three current draught ales being supplied by Roughacre Brewery in Clare, Nethergate in Long Melford and Colchester Brewery, their goal of using locally-brewed ales is already in evidence

Kyle and Amy have plans to put the main restaurant area back into use and dispose of the pool tables in the Tudor Room to create a second dining area.

With Kyle also being an experienced musician (he plays bass), they intend to have live music nights with food, mostly focused on soul and Motown.