A RETIRING landlady will go out on a high after seeing her Grade II-listed pub named one of Britain’s best for the 15th year running.

Jean Baxter, 70, has been serving real ales to the people of Great Harwood and beyond from behind the bar at the Victoria for 17 years.

The Victoria, which was built in 1905 and has remained virtually unchanged since, is the only East Lancashire pub to be listed in the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra)’s new edition of Britain’s Best Real Heritage Pubs.

It is famous for its Art Nouveau decor with green and cream glazed floor-to-ceiling tiles and a horse-shoe shaped bar.

The St John’s Street pub will also feature in Camra’s Good Beer Guide, due out next year.

Mrs Baxter said people travel from all over the UK to take pictures and sample the five or six ales she has on at a time.

“We get people coming from all over including from Scotland. They come, have two halves and take some photographs of the building then leave,” she said.

Now a real ale fan, she said: “I did not drink it at first. When we took over the pub we were cleaning and my daughter found a real ale pump. We built it up from there.

“We have customers come in and tell us what they have been drinking at beer festivals and we try them.

“We try and keep to local breweries if possible so they do not have to travel so far and it supports local businesses.

“It is about the flavours, knowing how to keep it and keeping the lines clean. If you do that you can’t go wrong.”

Mrs Baxter said it made her feel “proud” knowing they had made it into the book.

“I’m retiring in three weeks so I am going out on a high.” She said the secret of the pub’s success is a friendly, warm atmosphere.

and no “banging music” and that will continue under the new management.

Britain’s Best Real Heritage Pubs, written by Geoff Brandwood, explores 260 pubs throughout the UK which have interiors of real historic significance.

It is the result of 25 years of research by CAMRA to discover pubs that are either unaltered in 70 years or have features of truly national historic importance.