A homelessness charity is set to prove the toughness of its furniture this weekend after kind-hearted owners of England’s highest pub bought tables ahead of its Saturday reopening event.
The world-famous Tan Hill Inn is situated on top of The Pennines in the North Yorkshire Dales and endures ferocious weather conditions.
Cornerstone Supported Housing and Counselling took the initiative to offer the Tan Hill one of its sturdy outdoor pub tables for free – asking for a chance to showcase its wares to the pub’s 55,000 Facebook followers.
But the owners went further, buying six and taking swift delivery of their durable tables from the Willington-based charity, last week.
The endorsement of Cornerstone’s not-for-profit furniture-making venture comes 24 years after the Tan Hill ‘Inn’famously boosted the fortunes of double glazing firm Everest.
The reopening on Saturday comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week gave the green light for licensees of pubs and restaurants to return to business on July 4 under strict guidelines.
As a result, the team at the Inn has created an outdoor, safe-space, serving area, after being inundated with first-night bookings when the news was announced.
Pub boss, Andrew Hields, took ownership of Tan Hill in June 2018 and the spectacular fire-lit reopening is part of many exciting events and attractions planned for the historic venue.
A spokesperson for the Tan Hill team took to social media, praising the efforts of Cornerstone and its furniture: “We are delighted with our new lovely tables from the charity Cornerstone. It’s so wonderful that Tan Hill Inn can have their urgent requirements for outside tables met by an organisation that is so valuable and doing such great work within the community. We think you will agree that these tables really are class!”
Cornerstone – which also has community hubs and supported housing in Hartlepool – developed its furniture business in 2010 to help it become less reliant on grant funding.
But the venture was forced to close its doors to customers for almost two months as a result of COVID-19 guidance and legislation.
However, after the boost of winning an £18,000 government grant last week that will help it to continue operating until the autumn, the charity is committed to working itself out of difficulty by selling its home and furniture, pub furniture and heavy-duty sheds and summerhouses.
Cornerstone provides emergency accommodation and semi-supported living for homeless people including rough sleepers. Its staff and volunteers conduct regular late night and early morning street sweeps offering help and support to those they find.
Cornerstone also provides vocational training to help adults and young people not attending a traditional education facility to get into work – the training takes place through its joinery leaning and training centre and a number of its retail outlets.
Both paid staff and volunteers work at Cornerstone and some of the volunteers have the experience, both direct and indirect, with the criminal justice system. Cornerstone also provides family and relationship support.
To find out more about Cornerstone visit www.cornerstone-north.org or The Tan Hill Inn www.tanhillinn.com
