100 years of The Free Trade Inn and the story behind the new swing sign…

The Free Trade Inn pub in Sileby, Leicestershire, has been owned by Everards for 100 years this year and has just completed a refresh, with an investment of £50,000.

Business owner Gary held a small gathering with his locals to celebrate the occasion. But the celebration was not just about the works; it was also about the new signage and the story behind it.

When the pub's exteriors were being designed, the swing sign was initially a traditional image. After researching the origin of the pub's name, Gary realised that it came from the old practice of staying at inns free of charge until one got a job, after which they would buy everyone a drink. With this in mind, Gary asked local artist Conrad McEwan to create a 15th-century style image of men drinking and toasting, using some of his regular drinkers as models.

The drawing was completed in March 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was delayed. During this time, one of the much-loved locals featured on the swing sign, Dave Fleet, passed away. However, his family insisted that the swing sign should go ahead in tribute to Dave.

As part of the informal gathering, Dave's brother Graham attended to represent Dave and meet with his friends featured on the swing sign.

“We couldn’t be happier with what Conrad has achieved with the new swing sign. It’s a real honour and as we celebrate 100 years of Everards owning the pub, I hope the swing sign will hang proudly for another 100 years. Special thanks to Dave’s family for giving us permission to include him on the swing sign, such a cheery face, I’m glad the village still gets to see him every day! We’ve worked with the Everards team to use this refurb, to make sure we give our customers what they need out of their local pub and I’m 100% confident we have achieved just that! I don’t think any other pub has their customers on their swing sign. We hope this shows the village how much we value them and their support and how important they are to us and the pub” says Gary.