Mad O'Rourke's Pie Factory doubles size of hotel above iconic pub with new luxury rooms

Visitors who want a nap after completing the Desperate Dan Cow Pie Challenge can now choose to lay their head in ten hotel rooms.

And in keeping with the restaurant's policy of using local suppliers the new luxury rooms are Black Country through and through after the £50,000 refurbishment.

The fixtures and fittings have been made and installed by a company in Sedgley and are in keeping with the pub's 1860s decor.

Owner Peter Towler said: "We first opened five hotel rooms in 2010 and they are very popular so I have converted my old residential quarters into five new luxury rooms.

"They have lovely wood panelling and we wanted to give guests the authentic Black Country experience from the moment they order the first beer until they check out in the morning."

Visitors come from all over the world to stay at the Pie Factory which has become a tourist destination in its own right. The pub's walls are decked out with historical artefacts from a world gone by in the Black Country.

Mad O' Rourke's Pie factory was built in 1856 and was equipped with shell die presses from the Royal Ordinance works at Bilston.

The problem of the pastry being so hard was overcome when it was realised that the pies had a very long shelf life. This made them very popular particularly with the shipping and military people in the pre-canning days and became famous during the Crimea War due to their popularity with heroic soldiers.

Peter said: "We get a lot of international visitors throughout the week who are over here on business and we also have people who have visited the Black Country Museum.

"We are great value, our rooms are between £50 and £80 and are totally different than the faceless, corporate rooms in hotels which are the same wherever you are in the world.

"We are already fully booked for Valentine's Day and the new hotel rooms are being booked up online already."