Rayleigh and Wickford MP, Mark Francois, took time during a busy Friday recently to officially re open the Smugglers’ Den, on the River Crouch in Hullbridge.
The Smugglers’, as it is affectionately known in Hullbridge, is a club and bar based in a building going back some hundreds of years and, according to local folklore, was sometimes used by smugglers attempting to sneak contraband up the River Crouch past customs officers in days gone by.
The modern Smugglers’ Den has now been taken over by Mark and Angela Hale, long standing Hullbridge residents, who actually met on the dancefloor in the Smugglers some years ago.
The husband and wife couple have recently spent a considerable sum on refurbishing the club and they invited Mark along as the local MP to perform the ribbon cutting to officially reopen the premises. Whilst there, Mark also had an opportunity to pull some pints behind the bar and to admire the handiwork of the local builders who have helped restore the Smugglers to its former glory (including by opening up an old fireplace which can now be used again for the enjoyment of customers).
Commenting on his welcome duty, Mark Francois said
"I have known the Hales for a long time as Angela serves as a local councillor in Hullbridge and it was therefore a great pleasure to be invited to reopen the refurbished Smuggles’ Den. They have done a really good job in sprucing up the place and I hope it will be a very welcoming venue for people living in Hullbridge, or those just coming to visit. I also had an opportunity to pull some pints behind the bar – Nigel Farage eat your heart out – and overall it was a really enjoyable occasion. I wish the Hales and all their customers at the Smugglers’ Den all the best for the future."