A POPULAR village pub near York now looks set to remain closed beyond the first anniversary of its landlord's death.

The Ebor in Bishopthorpe shut suddenly last February after Gordon Watkins - who was York's longest serving landlord - died of Covid.

His death came just weeks before he was due to celebrate 40 years in charge of the pub in Main Street.

Mr Watkins was known as Samuel Smith’s Brewery’s last tenant landlord and his son Chris said then that the pub would now become a managed house.

The brewery, which does not speak to the media, advertised last autumn for a live-in management couple to run the 'excellent village pub,' with a deadline for applications of December 28.

However, the post is now being re-advertised, with a fresh deadline of March 1, which is more than a year after the Ebor shut.

Bishopthorpe councillor John Galvin said last year that the pub had been a 'great asset' to the village and he hoped it would reopen.

"It was extremely well patronised and had a strong following, and was an attraction for the village," he added.

The Press reported recently how another Samuel Smith's Brewery pub, the York Arms in High Petergate, which closed suddenly in July 2019, was still lying empty.

The brewery had also launched a fresh bid to find a management couple to run that pub, with a deadline for applications of January 22, having apparently failed to find anyone last autumn.

The same applies to several other village pubs near York, including the Agar Arms at Warthill, the Shoulder of Mutton at Appleton Roebuck and the Rose & Crown at Askham Richard, where new management couples are all being sought with a January 22 deadline.