See inside the Black Country inn run by popular couple who'd never managed a pub before
As pubs continue to battle the cost of living crisis, the Express & Star continues its Love Your Local series which celebrates our local inns.
It's a pub with character, set near a bustling town centre and run with love by a couple who love their beer.
The Bridge Inn in Kingswinford has been run since September 2021 by Sharon and Steve Osborne and has become a must-see venue for anyone who likes the beers from Black Country Ales.
The Bridge was first licensed in 1845 when James Bowdler was the landlord, who was also a blacksmith, and was named the Bridge either due to the historic bridge over Dawley Brook or the bridge over Kingswinford to Wolverhampton main road, which carried the Pensnett mineral railway.
The Osborne's are the 45th licensees of the pub, and what makes their story unique is that they had never run a pub before taking over the licence in 2021.
Sharon says the couple, who lived in Willenhall at the time, had enjoyed drinking in a Black Country Ales pub in the town and, after changes in their working life, decided to go for getting their own watering hole, albeit not without having to jump a few hurdles in the process.
She recalls: "I'd previously been working in an office and Steve at a foundry and we used to drink in a pub in Willenhall, and I think the idea about running a pub came from being in that pub. Although I left one job and started another, the idea was always in the back of my mind and, one day, we decided to just apply.
