THE wife of a former pub landlord who ran a Wiltshire pub for nearly a quarter of a century has planted a tree in his memory.

Liz Northeast and her husband Dave managed the Rising Sun on the Winsley Road in Bradford on Avon for almost 24 years from 1995 to 2019.

During that time, the couple raised over £30,000 for local charities, including the local Dorothy House Hospice and Wiltshire Air Ambulance.

Wiltshire Times: Liz Northeast with the Kingston Black cider apple tree she has donated to Bradford on Avon’s Hens Orchard in memory of her husband Dave, who was landlord of the Rising Sun for 24 years. Image: Trevor Porter 76890-1Liz Northeast with the Kingston Black cider apple tree she has donated to Bradford on Avon’s Hens Orchard in memory of her husband Dave, who was landlord of the Rising Sun for 24 years. Image: Trevor Porter 76890-1 (Image: Trevor Porter)

Liz said: “We put on live music and other events, and our regulars even knitted a woollen scarf nearly two miles long stretching from the pub to the Dorothy House hospice in Winsley.”

Liz planted a Kingston Black cider apple tree in Hens Orchard, which is managed by the Bradford on Avon Preservation Trust.

She said the orchard next to the town’s ancient Tithe Barn was the ideal spot for the apple tree commemorating her husband, who died aged 71 on December 31 2022.

She added: “Dave was a proud Bradfordian. Cider was his favourite drink and he played cricket for the Rising Sun team, on the Victory Field.

“They wanted people to take them seriously, so they changed the team’s name to the Christ Church Cricket Club.”