PRIMROSES will be put in an inn to celebrate its last private owner.

Lola Taplin, the last private owner of The Fleece Inn at Bretforton, was always given bunches of primroses on her birthday until her death in 1977.

The pub is now owned by the National Trust, but Lola is still remembered on her birthday of April 19, which this year falls on a Wednesday.

The Fleece Inn’s landlord Nigel Smith said: "Lola Taplin is fondly remembered here and local folklore has it that she still watches over the pub and its people in the incarnation of an owl that sits on the ridge of The Fleece’s thatched barn."

"We like to think she and the owl enjoy the many different music events and concerts we hold here all year round, and certainly that they enjoy the extra flux of visitors we get here in Asparagus season which is now upon us."

A direct descendent of the man who built The Fleece, Lola lived in the pub her entire life before she passed away in front of the fire in the pub’s snug.

Lola bequeathed the inn to The National Trust making it the first pub in the country to be owned by the charity.

For a full programme of events, visit www.thefleeceinn.co.uk or call 01386 831173.