Auctioneers Arms at Caverswall: Raising the Bar
On the 11th of October 2026, the Auctioneers Arms, a Caverswall-based community pub, invited us to a taster evening for their new menu, but it's so much more than food that is served here. Manager Terry told our reporter what makes The Auctioneers such a special place.
The new menu was made possible thanks to a completely new kitchen. It had been on Terry and his team's wish list for a long time, the old one being smaller than an average food truck meant that it was difficult to do very much. "We did really well for a few years with it," said Terry. "There wasn't any grant available, so we just had to wait a few years until we could self-fund it. It cost us around £90,000 because it was a complete rebuild as well as a refit."
Another important job was training all the staff. They haven't recruited any extra chefs; instead, they've trained the existing staff. They have a 21-member team, and many have stayed with them over the years, developing their roles and skills. Terry likes to make sure everyone who joins receives a good head start on their career path. They have always been able to support front-of-house staff in their career progression, but haven't had the facilities to train kitchen staff in the same way until now, and Terry was delighted to tell us that two are at college doing apprenticeships.
"The kitchen build was finished about 5 weeks ago, and over the past few weeks, they've been getting used to it, training the staff, trying out the new equipment, and trying out new dishes so that they could do the big launch today," Terry continued. "We've actually been serving a Sunday roast for the past 4 weeks now, which we've had good take-up on—we use a local butcher, and the feedback has been great. We were fully booked today, and we've been doing the tasting from 4-6 pm, where we've been giving out samples for people to try."
The samples were served in little bamboo boats, which were utterly charming and filled with delights such as cheesy garlic bread, mozzarella sticks with a sweet chili sauce, bangers and mash with crunchy onion pieces, and koftas.
Auctioneers Arms at Caverswall: Raising the Bar 
Hours have been extended slightly, adding an extra half an hour to the lunch service, finishing at 3:00 pm instead of 2:30 pm, and an extra half an hour to the evening service too, now finishing at 8:00 pm. The biggest changes for them is to the menu and make some homemade dishes, which is what they have always wanted to do. Today they had a special of the Scottish Baked Salmon.
Plunkett UK is the charity behind the success of a lot of the community-owned pubs, offering support to rural community businesses across the UK for 100 years. When the Auctioneers set up as a community-owned pub nearly 10 years ago, they were number 47, and Plunkett now supports about 230 community-owned pubs, so there is a real demand for places like the Auctioneers Arms.
The building was set to be demolished when the community took it over almost 10 years ago. A property owner had bought it and planned to turn it into flats. The group used the Asset of Community Value (ACV) process to get started into the thriving business it is today.
Terry can really see firsthand the value it is to the local people, giving those who are on their own an opportunity to get out and meet friends and neighbours or just a change of scene. It's a great place to pop in after work too and they have something on every night, like bingo, quiz nights, and live music. Social isolation is a big concern across the country, and the Auctioneers is doing its bit to keep that at bay for the local residents. One example is a chap who used the venue for his partner's funeral wake and visited a few times to go over the details. It was a difficult time for him; Terry encouraged him to come back, he did, and now he comes in regularly, bringing family members too. Being able to be part of the community helped him find a way forward during that difficult time. Now he comes in, has a meal, chats to the staff, and that's not something as a community we can value highly enough.
Staff-wise, Tilly was a girl who was at college and started at the Auctioneers at 15. She didn't get along with college and asked if she could do an apprenticeship at the Auctioneers instead. At first, she wouldn't come out of the pot washers space, but 12 months afterwards, she much preferred being with the customers and is now the deputy manager. Two years in, she gave a talk at a conference in Birmingham in front of about 400 people on stage, telling people about her progress. The work really helped boost her confidence.
Terry gave a talk at the Eden Project earlier this year about hospitality and trying to save it. He asked the audience to put their hands up if they had ever worked in hospitality, and everyone put their hands up, including members of parliament. Terry explained that it is so important that hospitality continues to give people that opportunity to step up and learn the life skills you can't get in a classroom.
"To do what we've done here and reach that next milestone means a lot. I've worked for Hilton, I've worked at the Belfry with big teams of people who've trained for years - these guys have trained here, which is great."
Next for Terry is Christmas, just around the corner and menus going out this week. Caverswall is a popular place with visitors coming into the area, especially to stay at the castle, something you can't do in many places.
You can book a table, or find out what's on at https://auctioneersarms.co.uk/. There's even a craft hub too, whatever your reason to visit, we know you you'll have a warm welcome from Terry and the team.
Auctioneers Arms at Caverswall: Raising the Bar for Community Inclusion
