History

Frances, William’s wife, died on the 30th September 1860, aged 54 and was laid to rest in the churchyard at St Mary’s, Whicham.

When the 1861 census was taken on the 7th March, William was away from home, in Liverpool, visiting Christopher Troughton, a chemist originally from Whicham. William, aged 54, is described as a spirit merchant, which illustrates how his business had grown. In Kirksanton, the Brockbanks had left Low Layriggs. The census returns show that William Brockbank junior (aged 31) was doing what he enjoyed most - farming. He had taken on the land that his uncle, William Wilson, had worked, together with the fields belonging to his father, making a total of 160 acres. William Brockbank senior and James were living in a substantial house built on land adjacent to the King Billy, known as The Croft. James (27) is listed as being both a grocer and a spirit merchant.

William died at The Croft on the 28th of August 1864, aged 57 and was buried with his wife at St Mary’s. By his will, William divided his estate so that his son, William, inherited Layriggs and everything connected with the farm. The King Billy with the shop and spirit store were bequeathed to James. Mary was to receive an income from the profits from the farm.

On the 21st July 1862, James married Agnes Hodgson in St Mary’s, Whicham. Their first child, William, was born the following year, but died at The Croft, two months old. They went on to have five more children: James Wilson (1867-1951), Frances Margaret (1868- 1952), Agnes Elizabeth (1870-1886), John Edwin (1871-1951) and Arthur Hodgson (1882- 1954).

After a visit to the McVitie’s biscuit factory in Carlisle, James’ brother, William, conceived the idea of using the local spring water to produce beer. Bank Springs Brewery was built soon after their father’s death and in 1865 they advertised in the Whitehaven News for a ‘good Ale and Porter Brewer’. The next step was to provide a market for the beer by building or buying pubs locally, starting in 1866 with the construction of The Queen’s Hotel on Holborn Hill. By the time he died in 1904, James owned twelve public houses.

When the next census was taken in 1871, James was describing himself as a general merchant, having delegated the day-to-day running of the King Billy to George Smith and his wife, Margaret. James retained the alcohol license for himself and employed George and Margaret as managers.

When the 1871 census was taken, Robert Geldart Hunter, from Whitbeck, was living in The Croft and working for James Wilson Brockbank, as a clerk. He proved to be a reliable employee and by August 1873, had become the licence holder for selling alcohol in the King Billy.

On the 17th of May 1877, Robert married Isabella Robinson in Holy Trinity, Millom. Isabella had been bom in Goosnargh, Lancashire and baptised in nearby St James’, Whitechapel by the Rev. Thomas Benn. Thomas had been born and brought up at Hestham Hall, Kirksanton. After training to become a Church of England clergyman, he was appointed perpetual curate to St James’, Whitechapel in the parish of Goosnargh. In 1869, when George, the last of Rev. Thomas’ brothers, died unmarried at Hestham Hall, he bequeathed the farm to his nephew, William Lucas Benn, son of the Rev. Thomas, who then returned to Hestham. At about the same time, Isabella took advantage of the opportunity to move from Goosnargh to Hestham Hall to work as a domestic servant and as the saying goes, ‘The rest is history!’.

Robert and Isabella’s first baby, Mary Ann, was born in 1878. The 1881 census places Robert and Isabella at the King Billy, with Robert described as a hotel keeper. Later that year Nelly was bom, but sadly died after her first birthday. Another daughter, Isabella, was bom in 1883.

The King Billy rarely features in local newspapers, but in 1883 an incident occurred that got people talking! On Wednesday, 1st October, a Mrs Wilson of Askam, hung her husband’s shirt out to dry only to discover later that it had disappeared. She reported the theft to the police, who found out that a man had asked locally about how to get to Millom. The information was passed to Millom Police Station and enquiries were made around the town. Apparently a shirt had been pledged with John Baker, manager of a pawnbroker’s. A man matching the description that Mr Baker supplied, was spotted in the town and police constables Beeby and Reed set off in pursuit. On reaching Kirksanton, they saw the thief go into the King Billy and when he saw them, he ran out through the back door. The chase continued, but eventually John Shaw was arrested and brought back to Millom. He was charged by Sergeant Harrison with stealing a shirt, the property of Edward Wilson of Askam, miner, to the value of 5s and locked up in a cell in Millom. When the case came before the Bench, Shaw admitted the theft and was sentenced to a month in prison with hard labour.

In 1884, Robert and Isabella moved to the Amaby Mill Inn at The Green-which by then, was also owned by James Wilson Brockbank.

At this point, James decided that he should hold the alcohol licence for the King Billy in the future.

The 1891 census places Thomas and Mary Newton with their two daughters, Sarah and Mary, at the King Billy, but they may well have taken over when the Hunters left. In February 1884, an advert had been put in the Preston Chronicle:

WANTED MAN AND WIFE, the man to act as
Groom and Gardener, the wife to manage a
small respectable Public-house in the country; coals and
candles found; good references required, — Address J.
W. BROCKBANK AND Co., Bank Springs Brewery, Kirk-
santon, Carnforth

Thomas was a cooper and worked at the brewery while Mary managed the pub. He was born in Broughton-in-Furness and had worked in Sedgwick and Preston Patrick before they moved to Kirksanton. Mary was born in Ulpha and brought up in Langdale near Ambleside, where her father worked in the coppermines and had a small farm.

Apart from their daughters, Thomas and Mary had a son, Thomas, who went into hospitality when he left school and became a waiter. He began in the Grange Hotel in Grange-over- Sands and by 1891 was living in Leeds.

Sadly, Thomas’ wife, Mary, died on the 11th of June 1893 in the King Billy and then Thomas and his daughters moved away.

John Graham, born in St Bees, came down the coast looking for work in the iron mines. He married Eliza Newton on the 29th November 1890 in Holy Trinity, Millom. Eliza had been born in Kirksanton in 1872, the daughter of David and Margaret Newton and was not related to Thomas Newton, the tenant of the King Billy in 1891. John and Eliza set up home at Low Layriggs, but when the opportunity arose they moved into the King Billy.

When the 1901 census was taken, John, Eliza and their three sons, William (aged 10), Robert(8) and John (3) were living in the King Billy. John was working for the Brockbanks as a drayman, leaving the running of the hotel in Eliza’s hands.

On the 4th October 1904 James Wilson Brockbank died at The Croft, leaving the King Billy to his eldest son, James Wilson Brockbank.

The next census was taken in April 1911. John Graham was described as a general labourer at the Brewery and Eliza was the hotel manager. The two older boys were clerks for the Furness Railway, while the youngest was still at school. Sadly, John did not see the year out as he died on the 16th October at the King Billy, aged 43. After John’s death Eliza stayed on at the King Billy until she remarried.

On the 13th of November 1916, Eliza married Henry Park in St George’s Church in Millom. They had known each other from childhood; although Henry was born in Haverigg, some of his early years were spent in Kirksanton. Later on, he had been at Kirksanton Mill and then Manor Farm before moving to Barfield at Whitbeck. Like Eliza, Henry had also been recently widowed. They lived in Ivy Cottage at The Hill.

Henry Walker Jackson, from Dean in Cumberland, married Anne Jane Kneen formerly Grundill from Egremont, in Whitehaven Register Office on the 13th of August 1913. Henry was a policeman in Whitehaven and Annie was recovering from the death of her first husband, Thomas Sansbury Kneen, in September 1912.

At the age of nineteen, in 1907, Henry had joined the Scots Guards and served three years short service, after which he was transferred to the Army Reserve. So, when war was declared on the 28th July 1914, Henry was mobilised the following day and posted to France.

Henry’s time in the army was cut short in November 1914 at Ypres, when he was shot through his lungs, invalided out and finally discharged on the 9th July 1915, as being no longer fit for service. In the meantime, Annie had moved to Tarn Head, Haverigg, to be near relatives.

When Eliza Newton left the King Billy in 1916, Henry applied successfully to become the next manager. It was Annie who ran the pub because Henry having been seriously injured, never made a full recovery. He died at the King Billy from T.B. and heart failure on the 17th January 1918, aged 29.

Henry was buried in the churchyard at St Mary’s, Whicham, with full military honours as described in the Millom Gazette.

‘A party of Millom soldiers, under Sergt. Bray, formed a guard of honour at the house and at the graveside, and acted as bearers and as the coffin was lowered into its final resting place the “Last Post” was sounded by bugler Allen. The coffin was covered with the Union Jack.’

After Henry’s death, Annie continued to run the King Billy until 1922, when she moved back to Tarn Head.

Alexander and Mary were from Scotland. Alexander was born in Glenluce, Wigtownshire and Mary in Glass, Aberdeenshire. They married in Glasgow in 1897 and set up home in Keswick, Cumberland, where Alexander was a police constable. Their two children, William and Eliza, were bom in Keswick.

By 1911 they had moved to Cleator Moor, where Alex was promoted to sergeant. When the 1921 census was taken, the family had moved to Millom and were living at 172 Holborn Hill. Alexander was due to retire in 1922.

The electoral registers place Alexander and Mary at the King Billy between 1923 and 1926, but by July 1926 they were living in Millom once more, on Salthouse Road.

Richard Northcote was bom in Millom in 1875. After leaving school, like his father and many boys of his age, he found work in the mines at HodbaiTow, but in 1898 he left Millom and moved to London to become a metropolitan police constable. Richard married Edith Phoebe Gristwood, originally from Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, in St Maiy’s, Willesden on the 22nd February 1900. They settled in Norbiton, where they went on to have four children. Sadly, only two of the infants survived to adulthood.

Richard retired from the police after completing 25 years of service, at which point he and Edith decided to move to Millom. They lived on Market Street until the King Billy became vacant. Then they took over the tenancy and held it until about 1930, when they decided to return to Norbiton. Richard’s health was not good and at the end of 1932 he had a nervous breakdown and also contracted ’flu, from which he did not recover completely. He died suddenly in March 1933.

James and Mary lived at the King Billy for a brief period around 1931. They had been living in Millom while James was a miner at Hodbarrow. They left the King Billy when Mary fell ill; she died in Millom on the 28th November 1932.

Thomas Harry Lowe was born in 1881 in Askam, near Barrow-in-Furness. Wanting to have a more interesting life than that of a grocer’s assistant, he went to Manchester to become a police constable in Moss Side. On the 18th June 1902 Thomas married Jean Elizabeth Hughes in the Cavendish Street Congregational Chapel, Chorlton-on-Medlock and they had a daughter, Frances May.

Thomas retired in about 1926 and the family returned to Cumberland where, in January 1927, he became the licensee of the Royal Albert Hotel in Silecroft. They left Silecroft in October 1929, when the licence was transferred from Thomas to John Bragg.

In March 1932, an advert appeared in the Millom Gazette for a manager for the King Billy and this presented Thomas and Jean with another opportunity. However, their stay was shortlived as by 1934, the King Billy was in different hands.

Olive May Moore was born on the Ist November 1891, in Millom, where her father worked as a miner in the Hodbarrow iron ore mines. She married Thomas Fisher in St George’s, Millom, on the 28th July, 1920. Thomas had recently returned from a period of war service with the Anzacs. At first, he worked as an agricultural labourer at Salthouse Farm, on the outskirts of Millom and then took on the tenancy of Burnfield Farm, at The Hill. Two years later, Aileen was bom there, followed by Constance Mary, in 1926.

Sadly, despite maintaining the appearance of feeling bright and cheerful, Thomas was weighed down by worries about the farm and trade. It all became too much to bear and in 1926, he was found dead, hanging from a beam in the hay loft.
Once Olive had recovered from this terrible shock, she was faced with having to support herself and her two girls and it was in about 1934, that James Wilson Brockbank offered her the position of manager at the King Billy.

Being a landlady was a hard life, working long hours serving the customers as well as keeping the place presentable; scrubbing the flagstone floors was hard on the arms and knees! Usually, the pub closed at 10 p.m., but on occasions such as Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, Olive applied for a one hour extension. For the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on the 12th May 1937, the King Billy also opened in the afternoon between 3.00 and 5.30.

Olive was at the King Billy throughout the war years. On the 2nd January 1941, the war was brought to the area when German bombers missing Millom Ironworks, their intended target, dropped their load on Steel Green, killing five people and destroying three houses. Several days later they tried again and dropped two bombs in a field near Haverigg, fortunately causing no casualties or damage to houses.

When the war was over, VE Day was celebrated at the King Billy with a two hour evening extension.

In about 1948, Aileen became housekeeper to the vicar of St Anne’s, Thwaites. She and Olive moved from the King Billy to the vicarage and it was there that Aileen and Eric’s son was bom.

Brockbank Labels
Courtesy of Lorraine Wilson

John was born in Millom on the 19th November 1894 and spent the first eight years of his life at Hall Green Farm, in Kirksanton. In 1902, the family moved to Muncaster, where John went to the school opposite the castle. The 1911 and 1921 censuses place them at Moor Farm, Millom, where John worked on the farm. On the 22nd September 1934, he married Edith High in Penrith Register Office. Edith had been born in Millom on the 24th July 1903 and in 1934, was staying at Town End Farm in Watermillock. When the Pre-War Register was compiled in 1939, John and Edith were farming at Dreamland in Stainton, near Kendal.

In 1949, John and Edith retired from farming and returned to the Millom area. The alcohol licence for the King Billy was transferred from the Brockbank brothers to John on the 7th June and confirmed on the 5 th July.

James Wilson Brockbank died unmarried, on the 2nd January 1951, leaving the King Billy to his brother, John Edwin. Nine months later, on the 28th September, John Edwin also died unmarried and so the King Billy passed to the last of the three brothers, Arthur Hodgson Fox- Brockbank.

In 1952, Arthur drew up his will. It seems that Edith’s help when James and John were unwell, was appreciated, as Arthur bequeathed her £100 and John, as one of Arthur’s employees, was to be given £5 for every year of service.

Sadly, John did not live long enough to receive his legacy; he and Edith left the King Billy in May 1953, moving to Whitriggs Close, near Haverigg, where John died on June 10th.

Arthur Hodgson Fox-Brockbank died unmarried on the 4th April 1954. In his will, Arthur made bequests to his close friends and employees, but the bulk of his estate was to pass to Thomas Guy Francis Wilson, his godson, and so the Brockbank era in Kirksanton came to an end.

Guy was nineteen when Arthur died, so the estate was held in trust by the District Bank and Guy’s father, Frank Gordon Wilson of Bankfield, until he was twenty-one. Frank was known locally as “Scrappy” Wilson because he had made his money as an iron and steel merchant in Barrow. Frank, his wife, Elizabeth and their only son, Guy, had moved to Bankfield in about 1950.

At the time of his godfather’s death, Guy was on National Service with the anny in Germany. He was due to be demobilised in September 1954 and then intended studying law in Carlisle.

The brewery had been struggling during recent times and the decision was made to sell. The final brew was in July 1954 and in October the brewery and all the pubs, apart from the King Billy, were sold to Matthew Brown. The King Billy became a free house.

Arthur Charles Leatham Barrett and his wife, Olive, moved into the King Billy in May 1953. Charles aka Charlie had led quite an adventurous life in comparison with previous landlords!

He was born in West Hartlepool on the 2nd May 1907 and as a teenager developed a passion for speed. At the age on 17, he began dirt track racing and was so successful that in 1928, he turned professional and raced under contract with the Middlesbrough speedway team, becoming the team captain in 1929. In August 1929, he headed south to join the Wembley Lions. Speedway or dirt track racing as it was also known, was a dangerous pursuit and Charlie was lucky to escape unscathed on several occasions. One incident occurred when he returned home in November 1930 to race at Cleveland Park. His bike caught fire and according to the Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail ‘He rode for some distance round the track with his machine blazing furiously. He escaped injury, but his machine was damaged extensively.’

In 1931, Charlie was contracted to race in the bull rings in Spain and the following winter he crossed the Atlantic to race in Mexico City, Los Angeles and Monteray. After that, he returned to West Hartlepool, trained as a marine engineer and set up a haulage business, but his passion for speed remained and he learnt to fly. He gained his aviator’s certificate in 1938 at the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Aero Club, where he became an instructor.

When war broke out, Charlie applied to the RAF and in February 1940, was assigned to the Volunteer Reserve as a pilot officer on probation. He was stationed in the North-East, his appointment being confirmed twelve months later with promotion to flying officer. From the North-East, Charlie was transferred to RAF Walney as an instructor. Alongside other duties, he flew planes from Cark, Millom and Walney. It was during this period that he became familiar with the area and may well have stopped off at the King Billy for pint.

Charlie was de-mobbed in 1945 as a flight-lieutenant. Twelve months later he was setting up his own charter airline - Northern Air Charters, which operated out of West Hartlepool Airport and transferred to Newcastle when the airfield at Woolsington opened up.

In 1948, Northen Air Charters merged with Astral Aviation Ltd. and Charlie became the managing director. He also married Olive Maxwell-Kelly, formerly Knight. Olive was bom in Barrow-in-Fumess on the 8th May 1916 and after leaving school trained as a hairdresser. She married Arthur Raymond Maxwell-Kelly in 1940, but the marriage did not survive the war years. Similarly, this was Charlie’s second marriage, his first being to Doris Nicol in 1940.

Northern Air Charters was taken over by the Lancashire Aircraft Corporation in 1949 and Charlie became the airfield manager. He remained in that capacity until May 1952, when he decided to leave to become manager of the Yorkshire Aeroplane Club at Sherbum-in-Elmet. In fact, he was a co-manager and it may well not have suited Charlie as in July 1953, he became the licensee for the King William IV Hotel in Kirksanton.

Charlie and Olive had barely settled into the King Billy when on the 2nd June, Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in Westminster Abbey. Charlie had applied for an extension to the pub opening hours, so that it was open for 2 1/2 hours in the afternoon and an extra hour in the evening.

Charlie treated the King Billy as primarily his home, so if he did not feel like opening up for thirsty customers, it stayed shut. He is also remembered for refusing to serve any to whom he took a dislike, showing them where the door was and suggesting they should visit another pub along the road! However, if Guy Wilson was passing by, Charlie would always open the bar and make him welcome! Guy employed Charlie as his rent collector.

The passion for speed continued unabated and his flying log book shows the wide variety of types of aircraft he flew from Walney airfield. The log book finishes in 1962, which coincides with the date that Charlie took up a new hobby — kart racing.

The West Cumberland Kart Club was founded in 1960 and initially raced on Haverigg airfield, but following complaints from nearby residents, it was decided to set up a company to fund the building of a circuit at the disused Kelton Head Quarry near Rowrah. Charlie joined the club in about 1962 and went on to buy two of the £20 shares in Lakeland Stadium Ltd. The circuit was completed in May 1963 and for the next six years, Charlie was having the time of his life there. As he upgraded to more powerful karts, he became eligible to race on other circuits around the country, such as Oulton Park, Mallory and Snetterton. The King Billy became the place where karters would get together, even after Charlie retired from racing in 1969.

Charlie and Olive moved from the King Billy in about 1976 and are recorded on the electoral registers as living in Flat 1, The Coach House in 1977 and Elm Close in 1981.

Harold and Dorothy were known in the village as Jim and Dot. Jim was Australian and had been a wagon driver for the salt mines in Cape Cuvier, Western Australia. He had a workshop in the bottom of the village hall, where he worked as a handyman until failing eyesight defeated him.

Jim and Dot are recorded on the electoral registers as living at the King Billy in 1977 and 1978, where Dot was the licensee. By 1979, they had moved into Flat 3, The Coach House and were living at 2 The Green in 1983 and 1984. It was about this time that Jim was diagnosed with skin cancer and decided to return to Australia. Dot did not go with him.

Richard and Irene bought the King Billy from Guy Wilson and went on to make alterations to the building by removing two internal walls and having an extension added on for use as a living room. The improvements resulted in their being able to sell food as well as alcohol, which took the pub in a new direction.

After five happy years in Kirksanton, The Brown Cow at Waberthwaite came up for sale and Richard and Irene decided to make the move to a larger place.

Paul and Joyce had 2 daughters who quickly integrated themselves into the local community when not helping out at the pub; both eventually married local boys and remained in the area. Paul ran a lively pub with lax closing hours; regulars increased, attracted by his "bonhomie" and the invariable lock-ins. Paul was a great joke teller and a canny businessman - he ran residential courses at the pub for trainee licensees. It amused him greatly that he was getting rent and the free services of the bar staff. Joyce more than Paul tired of the pub and within all too few years, it was sold to Harry Lingard. The Smith family continued to live in Millom; Paul reverted to plumbing with the occasional sojourn back into pub management as holiday cover; Joyce and daughter, Denise continued as barmaids, notably at the Harbour. Paul suffered a bad fall through a roof and died prematurely (before his 60th birthday) of heart disease. The family were all inveterate smokers.

Harry was a good-natured but shady individual who seemed to have an inexhaustible income stream with no obvious means for its generation. He had no definable skills and only had his handyman brother "Les" as his support. Harry was embroiled in Manchester's nightclubs and nightlife and knew many Manchester celebrities well; his girlfriend, Angie Gold was a cabaret singer. As well as The Billy, Harry apparently owned The Croft Care Home and later, Irton Hall. Local farmer, Terry Moorhouse, befriended Harry and often accompanied him on his frequent returns to the Manchester night scene. Harry brought Alex "Hurricane" Higgins to spend a weekend at the Billy when locals delighted at beating him on the pub pool table; Alec, a renowned alcoholic, drank Malabou cocktails from a pint glass. Inevitably, Harry tired of the pub and soon leased it out to others. Just as quickly as he had arrived, Harry faded from the area selling on assets on behalf of himself or others. He was last heard of living in Jersey. His brother, Les remained in the area doing odd jobs; he developed a smoking-related cancer and died prematurely in Millom.

Harry bought the King Billy from Paul and Joyce Smith in about 1989. As a property developer, Harry already owned The Croft Care Home and was in the process of expanding the accommodation there. Edward Duffield was installed as temporary manager of the King Billy, but did not stay long. Harry is listed there on the electoral registers for 1990 and 1991.

Edward "Ted" Duffield was allegedly a policeman retired out of the force for disciplinary reasons. He ran the pub for about a year during which time its reputation as a friendly local was lost. Ted did little to make the place inviting and incidents of domestic violence kept customers away. Unable to make a living, Ted soon vacated the property.

It was during this time that Alex “Hurricane” Higgins spent several days at the King Billy. Harry had met Alex in a pub in Manchester at a time when Alex needed to get away from the city for a break, so Harry suggested he could pay a visit to Kirksanton. The stay was all too short, but caused quite a stir at the time!

Meanwhile, Harry’s interests were taking him elsewhere in the county and Ted Trott became the landlord for a short period (1992).

Ted Trott originated from the City of York and he maintained business interests there whilst he ran The Billy. Ted spent his early adult life as a privileged administrator in Africa. There he enjoyed playing polo as well as being waited on hand and foot by servants. He met Paul and Joyce Smith in Africa and was introduced to The Billy by them. Possibly, Ted heard from Paul that Harry Lingard was looking for a new tenant. Ted took on The Billy with no experience and with some unlikely ideas as to how to revive its fortunes. Unfortunately, his plans came to nought and as an obese diabetic with a bad smoking habit, Ted didn't have the energy to produce a vibrant atmosphere. The pinnacle of his reign was an "African Night" when he cooked several recipes from his youth which had many locals wondering what they were eating. The pub continued to fail and as the creditors mounted, Ted took to barricading himself inside to avoid them. Sadly, he became bankrupt and lost the pub, his small bed manufacturing business in York and his home in one of the semi-detached cottages across the road from The Billy . He ended up destitute living in a small caravan in Haverigg. Denise Smith always took pity on him and worked as his barmaid; when Ted died, she was said to be the only mourner at his funeral.

Roger and Sandra moved into the King Billy in about 1994, renting and subsequently buying it from Harry Lingard. Roger worked as an officer at HMP Haverigg alongside managing the pub with Sandra. During their time at the King Billy they helped the village celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee in 1997 and the Millenium in 2000.

Roger was a prison officer at HMP Haverigg. He took on the tenancy of The Billy after Ted Trott left and with his wife Sandra, they rebuilt the pub's reputation as a convivial hostelry. They lit the fires, offered a comprehensive menu and provided decent beer. Their signature dish was a very filling "Lamb Henry". They kept regular hours and as the business flourished, they bought the pub from Harry Lingard. They hosted parties for New Year (notably, The Millenium), and for Royal celebrations. A large marquee adorned the village green for their daughter's wedding. Inevitably, commitment to the pub began to pall and Roger took up golf for relaxation. This led to golfing holidays on The Algarve and a decision to retire to Portugal.

Towards the end of 2001 Peter and Karen Rodger bought the King Billy from Roger and Sandra Singleton. Peter, like Roger, was a prison officer. He had stayed at the King Billy when he came for his interview at HMP Haverigg for a position which resulted in promotion. Peter had to get permission from the prison governor to buy the pub and it was on the understanding that the prison should always be his priority.

In 2007, Peter and Karen decided it was time to retire and spend time with their family. They sold the King Billy to St Philip’s Care Ltd., who had owned the Kirksanton Care Centre at The Croft, since 2004.

Peter Roger was another prison officer who stayed at The Billy when he was invited to HMP Haverigg for a promotional interview. He joined the staff at HMP Haverigg and met Roger Singleton; discussions led to the eventual sale of the pub to Peter. Peter ran a tidy if unimaginative pub; he was more committed to the prison and Karen, his wife, took little interest in the business. Peter was a golfer and a fisherman and with retirement, he sold The Billy to St Philip's Care Ltd, the same company that had bought The Croft Care Home next door from Harry Lingard in 2004.

Barry and Susan moved to The King Billy from The Miners’Aims in Silecroft, in 2007.
Barry was South African and brought a chef and that cuisine with him. Gradually he found that the steaks he was cooking were very popular and by 2015, the pub was becoming known as a steakhouse and was renamed the King Billy Grill

Barry Van der Vyver was a big (6ft 5in) South African cricketer who at his peak was on the verge of the Springboks Test Team. He met and married Susan, a local school teacher, when he was employed as the Cricket Professional for Millom Cricket Club. He was the landlord of The Miners Arms at Silecroft before he moved into the tenancy of The Billy. During his stewardship of The Billy, Barry concentrated on food and he removed the pub pool table to increase his number of covers. The pub became "The King Billy Grill" and was renowned for its meat dishes; Barry produced excellent rump steaks of varying weights culminating in his 2kg monster. Young men came from miles around to take the challenge of eating his huge meals. As well a steaks, Barry produced massive racks of ribs and stacks of multiple beefburgers. Full of ideas, he developed his own range of spiced sausages, dried biltong and savoury meat pies. He opened a cafe in Millom to capture daytime trade. Unfortunately, a destructive kitchen fire put him out of business in 2020.The King Billy was to remain closed for over two years. and was Reopened under the stewardship of Sam and Ian Burns in Time for Christmas 2022