Nicholas de Luda immortalised... with a tasty beer!

Tony Howkins, Lisa Howkins and David Stamp behind the bar.

The Consortium, which opened in the summer, has named their new beverage after Nicholas de Luda, clerk of the court to Edward the Black Prince in the 1360s.

Nicholas De Luda was one of the town’s local boys who made good, becoming effectively royal treasurer during the time that Edward III was raking in money from his French property possessions.

De Luda founded the church of St Mary’s in Cottingham on the north bank of the Humber, and still has a chapel there dedicated to him.

According to his epitaph, he fed the hungry, clothed the naked and reconciled those who quarrelled - but it took nearly 700 years for the notable parish priest to be rewarded with a beer dedicated to him.

Tony Howkins, from The Consortium, said:“I wanted to name a beer after a historic local figure to underline the local provenance of the ale”.

The beer - a rich dark stout, full of chocolate malt, and with a smattering of ground coffee and golden syrup - is made upstairs on the premises.

The tiny pub - one of the smallest in Lincolnshire - is tucked away in a courtyard by the entrance to Louth’s New Market Hall.

Tony added: “We’ve attracted a really good beer-appreciating crowd and the atmosphere is warm and friendly. Some days we are rushed off our feet!”