New team in charge at Corner House pub

A dedicated duo of pub enthusiasts have been working 16-hour days to get a landmark pub up and running again for this weekend.

Dan De Matteis, 41, and James Snelgrove, 38, have taken over as tenant licensees of the Corner House in Sheet Street, Windsor.

They set themselves a demanding task, closing the pub for exactly a week for a complete refurbishment - in time for a big reopening today at 6pm.

James said: "We deliberately gave ourselves a week. The theory was that if we gave ourselves any longer we would simply take longer to get the job done."

So Dan, James and a team of family and friends have been working round the clock to get it ready.

The pair are already tenant landlords of a pub in Farnham, which they took over two years ago. They plan to split their time between both premises with the Corner House's previous manager, Danielle Mapleston-Stroud, staying on to keep an eye on it.

Moving into the pub business was a life-changing decision for Dan and James. Dan worked for air crew at BA and James was a senior manager for Talk Talk.

James said: "It was a case of  wanting to get out of the corporate world and follow our own destiny."

Dan and James are putting in new furniture, equipment, a new range of beers and lagers and hope to have entertainment and comedy nights.

Singer Laura Miller will entertain at tonight's opening.

The pub has a turbulent recent history. Greene King, the owner, has confirmed that the previous tenant was served with an eviction order last week for non-payment of rent.

A spokesperson for Greene King said: "We believe that the new look Corner House can be a real asset to the community and have every confidence that James and Dan are the men to make it happen."