Who are we

Matt & Philippa

Matt – I’ve worked in Hospitality since I was 17, starting out as a waiter at a local wedding venue before moving up to bar work. I was an award winning Pub Manager for a large, national chain before working for two smaller, independent pub and restaurant companies.

Philippa – I started working in my local neighbourhood bar back in Boston Spa and quickly got promoted to Assistant Manager. Here I learned the ins and outs of managing a successful local business.

We first started looking for a hospitality business to run when the pub in Philippa’s parents’ village came up for sale. Thus started a long journey of viewing many properties in a bid to find the perfect mix of beautiful location and a business that could support our family.

We both love the countryside, pubs, great food, and usually more than one bottle of wine. We’re excited to make The Bruce our own, bringing in the products, flavours and ideas we seek out in other pubs & restaurants.

A long history

History of the Pub

The Bruce Arms takes its name from the Bruce Family: Thomas Bruce-Brudenell, later Earl of Ailesbury, took possession of Tanfield Manor and its surrounding lands in 1747; his family had been local landowners since 1676, and it stayed within the Bruce family right up until 1826 when Lord Arton purchased it.

Thomas Bruce Brudenell (1729 – 1814) was a British courtier and socialite. He took the second surname Bruce, after his uncle, in 1767 after succeeding to the barony of Bruce. The Bruce Brudenell family names have many pubs named after them, locally The Blue Lion takes its name from a Blue Lion on the family crest, The Cardigan Arms in Leeds takes its name from Thomas’s brother James being 5th Earl of Cardigan.