A man has been jailed for setting fire to a historic Knaresborough pub and causing £15,000 worth of damage.
Stephen Pearson, of Pinhoe Road in Exeter, was charged with arson at Blind Jack’s pub on Market Place in the town on August 21 last year.
He admitted the offence and was jailed for 31 months at York Crown Court this morning.
Pearson, who had grown up in the area, had been in Knaresborough for a week’s holiday to visit old places from his childhood.
The court heard how, because the weather was poor, the 45-year-old decided to go drinking in Wetherspoons.
At around 8.15pm, he went to Blind Jack’s pub where customers complained he had been handing out flyers from a bag.
Dan Cowdy, prosecuting, told the court that Pearson had been asked politely by bar staff to leave the premises.
He was described as “smelling of cannabis” and stumbling.
Mr Cowdy said:
“On his way out, he asked if [other customers] had complained about him.”
The court was told that Pearson then went to the Cross Keys pub and missed his train to Leeds.
As a result, he decided to sleep in the castle grounds and woke up at 4am.
‘Woke up cold and angry’
Mr Cowdy told the court that Pearson “woke up feeling cold and angry” and began walking back to Market Place.
On his way, he picked up a bin bag of paper and placed it in front of Blind Jack’s pub.
CCTV shown in court showed Pearson attempting to light the bag multiple times at 4.14am.
He then left and returned with a piece of paper at 4.27am, which he set fire to and used to ignite the bag before leaving the scene.
CCTV footage from the fire, which shows the bin bag in front of the pub.
The fire caused an estimated £15,235 worth of damage to the door, glass and signage of the pub.
The Grade II listed pub is named after Knaresborough’s John Metcalf, the first professional road builder to emerge in the industrial revolution.
The fire service extinguished the blaze and Pearson was arrested and later charged with arson.
Owners left feeling ‘unsafe and anxious’
Owners Christian and Alice Ogley were staying at a friend’s house at the time of the incident.
In a statement read out in court, Mr Ogley said then fire had left them “constantly checking” CCTV and feeling “unsafe and anxious”.
He said:
“We feel that the effect of this incident has made us feel unsafe.”
The court heard how during interviews with North Yorkshire Police, Pearson apologised and described himself as “an idiot”.
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He told officers that he did not intend to set fire to the pub itself, but wanted to leave the bag in front of the building as he was angry.
Mr Cowdy said:
“He assumed that the pub was empty and that no one lived there.”
Mitigating for Pearson, George Hazel-Owrem told the court that the 45-year-old had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.
He added that Pearson had shown “genuine remorse” for his crime and had issues with alcoholism and homelessness.
Mr Hazel-Owrem said:
“It is plain that he has a number of serious issues, particularly with alcohol and as a consequence of that has been homeless for some time.
“He also suffers from depression and anxiety and has had suicidal ideation in the past.”
Sentencing Pearson, Judge Simon Hickey told him that the fire had a significant impact on the victims.
He said:
“As the owners have pointed out, it had a drastic effect of them and a knock-on effect as they came out of covid.”
However, he accepted that Pearson had shown remorse for his actions.
Pearson was jailed for 30 months for arson, plus an extra month to be served consecutively for assaulting an emergency worker in Devon while on bail for the Blind Jack’s offence.
He will serve half the sentence before being released on licence.
‘Intimate gem’ Knaresborough pub wins rare award for beer qualityA pub in Knaresborough Market Place has been recognised for serving high quality real ale for three decades.
Blind Jack’s was awarded a certificate by the Campaign for Real Ale last night for 30 years’ continuous appearance in the Good Beer Guide.
The guide, produced annually by CAMRA, is the UK’s premier guide to the best beer in the country.
A total of 24 local pubs feature in the recently published 2023 edition. But it is not believed any can match Blind Jack’s record of being included every year in the last 30.
Christian Ogley and his wife Alice bought Blind Jack’s five years ago from Ian Fozard, the owner of Harrogate brewers Roosters.
Blind Jack’s on Market Place
Mr Ogley said only a handful of pubs in the country could match Blind Jack’s long-term record for consecutive appearances in the ale drinkers’ bible.
He said conditions in the 400-year-old building were ideal for maintaining ale at the right temperature and the pub also kept the quality high by ensuring a high turnover of live cask ales.
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Alun Gauld, chairman of the Harrogate and Ripon branch of CAMRA, presented a certificate to the owners last night. He said:
“Christian and Alice were overjoyed to have their hard work at the pub recognised by CAMRA and the certificate will join the other awards on the pub’s trophy display wall.
“In the pub’s first Good Beer Guide entry back in 1993 it was described as an intimate gem and it remains a gem to this day. “
The certificate presented last night
Mr Gauld said two other Harrogate district pubs had been in the Good Beer Guide regularly for many years — the White Bear in Masham and the One Eyed Rat in Ripon.
But he said he was only sure Blind Jack’s had been listed in the publication every year for the last three decades.
Man admits setting fire to historic Knaresborough pubA 45-year-old man has pleaded guilty to setting fire to a Knaresborough pub last year.
Stephen Pearson, of Pinhoe Road in Exeter, was charged with arson at Blind Jack’s pub on Market Place in the town on August 21 last year.
He pleaded guilty when he appeared before York Crown Court this morning.
Pearson’s defence counsel told the court that he had “a number of difficulties” over the years and was currently seeing a clinical psychologist on a regular basis.
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The defence requested that the case be adjourned for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.
Judge Simon Hickey adjourned sentencing Pearson until November 18.
He told him that he must “realise the consequences that may follow” when he appears before court again.
Blind Jack’s on Market Place, Knaresborough.
The pub was damaged in the blaze at around 4am on the morning of August 21, 2021.
Owners Christian and Alice Ogley were away at the time of the fire and nobody was injured.
The Grade II listed pub is named after Knaresborough’s John Metcalf, the first professional road builder to emerge in the Industrial Revolution.
Man to appear in court charged with arson at Knaresborough pubA 45-year-old man will appear before York Crown Court this week charged with arson at a pub in Knaresborough.
Stephen John Pearson, of Nutwell Court Road in Lympstone, Devon, is charged with committing arson that damaged Blind Jack’s pub on Market Place in the town on August 21 last year.
He appeared before York Magistrates Court on August 25 for the alleged offence, when the case was referred to York Crown Court.
Mr Pearson is due to appear before the crown court on Friday.
The Grade II pub is named after Knaresborough’s John Metcalf, the first professional road builder to emerge in the Industrial Revolution.
Blind Jack’s on Market Place, Knaresborough.
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- Arsonist sets fire to historic Knaresborough pub
Arsonist sets fire to historic Knaresborough pub
An arsonist set fire to an historic Grade II listed Knaresborough pub where the owners live.
Blind Jack’s, on Market Place, was damaged in the blaze which was started at around 4am on Sunday morning.
Owners Christian and Alice Ogley were away at the time of the fire so nobody was injured.
The fire service managed to put out the blaze and police officers tracked down a suspect and arrested him.
However, it will take a highly-skilled craftsman to replace the badly damaged entrance as the windows and door is around 200-years-old. There is also smoke damage inside.
The pub is named after Knaresborough’s John Metcalf, the first professional road builder to emerge in the Industrial Revolution.
Mr Ogley told the Stray Ferret:
“Luckily a local had just gotten back from a stag do in Leeds. He had decided to cut through Market Place where he saw the fire.
“He banged on the door because he knew we lived there and then called 999. Without him it would have been much worse.”
Since news of the fire got out, Christian and Alice have been inundated with messages and offers of support. He added:
“That is the best thing to come out of this. We have had so many kind messages and treats from local people and businesses.
“We managed to open last night. So many people came to offer their support. All of this positivity has really outweighed the negativity.”
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While the pub will get a temporary replacement, the owners will need to get in experts to fix entrance which may force it to close for a few days in the near future.
A North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said:
“Crews were called to a report of a door of a building on fire. Crews extinguished this using a hose reel jet. This was believed to have been deliberate.”
A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said:
“We want to get it right” – district pubs delay reopening“Police were called to Blind Jack’s pub in Knaresborough after reports that a man had set fire to the front door.
“Officers arrested a 44 year old man on suspicion of arson and he was later released under investigation.”
A number of pubs in Harrogate and Knaresborough have taken the decision to not open their doors on Saturday, despite being given the green light to reopen.
This decision comes as many pub owners argue that it is too soon to reopen. They would rather “watch what everyone else does” this weekend. Many pubs said they were too small to open or not financially stable enough.
Blind Jacks in Knaresborough is one pub which has taken the decision not to open on Super Saturday. Owners Christian and Alice Ogley told The Stray Ferret that they do not want to rush into anything.
They said:
“We have ever precaution in place in order to keep it as safe as possible, but we have one chance to get this right from the beginning. We want to make sure we are completely ready.”
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North Bar in Harrogate has been running a pop-up beer shop during lockdown but realised that reopening fully on 4 July was going to be a difficult task.
North Bar in Harrogate
Debra Przychodna, general manager of North Bar told The Stray Ferret:
“We decided to delay our reopening because we want to avoid risk, people are going to get very excited this weekend. We have had so much support from customers and we are really looking forward to when we can finally reopen.”
Similarly Hales Bar on Crescent Road in Harrogate has taken the decision not to open due to the size and layout of the bar. Manager Amanda Wilkson hopes to reopen next weekend but only from Thursday to Sunday.