Details of the events set to be announced next week
Stephan Hoy, owner, and Lisa Kelly, bar manager, outside their pub Ye Hole in Ye Wall on Hackins Hey in Liverpool, as they prepare to celebrate its 300th birthday.(Image: Morgan King/Liverpool ECHO)
Liverpool’s oldest pub, Ye Hole in Ye Wall, has released early details of a three day event as part of year-round celebrations for the Hackins Hey staple’s 300th birthday.
Drinkers’ cups are set to overflow as the pub’s owner, Stephan Hoy, promised a “cornucopia” of appearances from local legends and Ye Hole patrons including Ricky Tomlinson and Crissy Rock. The weekend in April will be a celebration of traditional Scouse drinking house culture in line with Ye Hole’s image as a “proper pub”.
Stephan told the ECHO: “It’s people who are famous for Liverpool and for the scene, from social clubs, you know, they were the cornerstone of Liverpool traditions. You’d go for a drink. Your first drink was with your dad, or your uncles. And you were taught: ‘Listen. You’re here to listen, learn how big people talk to each other.’
“I didn’t have a dad, but my friend, his dad was our boxing trainer. He took me under his wing and he took me for my first drink when I was 18. But he had five sons. So we were like *that* as a family. If you took on one Hoy, you took on all the Silvanos as well.”
Bar with lavish Christmas decorations, Ye Hole in Ye Wall, Hackins Hey, Liverpool.(Image: Morgan King/Liverpool ECHO)
The year’s celebrations will kick off with a private party for regulars next month (January), putting the pub’s family feel above all else and continuing the tradition of offering free food to friends of Ye Hole.
Stephan said: “The first thing is we can have a party for our friends. On the first week of January, back to work. The bar will be festooned with food and it’s just people who’ve been coming in to see us for 30 years, who love us, and we class them as family.”
The main event, for which Stephan and bar manager Lisa Kelly hope to welcome hundreds of patrons, will be a long weekend of celebrations from Fri Apr 17 until Sun Apr 19, 2026. A navy brass band will march up Hackins Hey on Fri Apr 17, the same day as an as yet unnamed local radio station will record a live show from the confines of the Georgian boozer.
The ECHO also understands local tour companies are arranging dates with Ye Hole to give visitors to Liverpool a chance to experience the once in a lifetime party.
Christmas tree in the window of Ye Hole in Ye Wall, Hackins Hey, Liverpool.(Image: Morgan King/Liverpool ECHO)
The choice of Apr 17 as Ye Hole in Ye Wall’s official birthday was a personal one for owner Stephan.
He said: “We had to pick a date as there’s no record of it. We went with Apr 17 as it’s my dad’s birthday. He died at 36.”
Stephan and Lisa’s emotional attachment to Ye Hole in Ye Wall, and to each other as long-time colleagues, is clear to see and reflected in the atmosphere the pair strive to create.
Lisa told the ECHO: “I absolutely love [Ye Hole in Ye Wall]. It’s the best place I’ve worked in. [Stephan and I] only work together, no one else. It’s just us two that work. We’re a good little team.”
Stephan added: “I won’t work with anybody else, because, as I said, I class Lisa like my daughter. I’ve never had a daughter. But if I ever did, that would be her.”
Fireplace with Santa and Christmas decorations, Ye Hole in Ye Wall, Hackins Hey, Liverpool.(Image: Morgan King/Liverpool ECHO)
For Stephan, Ye Hole in Ye Wall is more than just a pub. It is his pride and joy. And if the community around Ye Hole could be described as his chosen family, his own kids embrace of it is a source of even greater pride. Stephan hopes one day they will continue the legacy of the oldest pub in the city.
Stephen said: “It’s brilliant here. It’s home. My youngest son is 16 and only this weekend he said, ‘Dad, I get it now. At last.’”
Ye Hole in Ye Wall will celebrate its 300th birthday from Fri Apr 17 until Sun Apr 19. To be the first to hear details of this and other events throughout the year, follow Ye Hole in Ye Wall on their Instagram, TikTok or Facebook.