The Woolpack: A history of the beloved village boozer including the landlords and landladies, Tricia’s death and Cameron’s siege
The iconic is the heart of Emmerdale village
The Woolpack is the iconic pub and the beating heart of Emmerdale village. Affectionately dubbed The Woolie by fans, it’s the place where locals gather together, and its four walls have seen it all – the good, bad and very ugly!
The Woolpack is located on Main Street, and attached to The Grange Bed & Breakfast and neighbouring Pear Tree Cottage.
The Dales’ boozer was first seen on screen in 1972 and has changed hands many times over the years.
To date, the longest serving reign by a landlord is Amos Brearly. He ran the pub for an incredible 43 years, between 1948 and 1991.
The Woolpack’s current owners are Charity Dingle and her son Ryan Stocks, who took over in February 2022.
The history of the Woolpack
Did you know The Woolpack has been part of the village for nearly 250 years? The original Woolpack was first built in around 1776 and was owned by Ephraim Monks Brewery. It was situated at the other end of the village, opposite a large green.
In 1976, the pub was moved from its original building, due to subsidence, and moved to a former corn chandlers that had been derelict since the 1920s.
After a full refurb the new Woolpack was opened in February 1976 and remains to this day.
The owners of The Woolpack in Emmerdale
The current owners of The Woolpack are mum and son team Charity Dingle and Ryan Stocks. But they’re two in a long line of locals to be in charge.
1972-1991: The Amos Brearly and Henry Wilks years
Old school fans of Emmerdale will certainly remember this pair.
Amos Brearly had been running The Woolpack single-handedly for almost a quarter of a century when Emmerdale hit our screens in 1972.
He was joined by Henry Wilks – or Mr Wilks as Amos always called him – in 1973. When the pub moved premises in 1976, Amos and Mr Wilks did too.
The pair even survived a hostage drama, after being held at gunpoint in the back room by a pair of teenage robbers.
Ill health forced Amos out of his beloved Woolie in 1991 and Henry wasn’t far behind him.
1991-1999: The Alan Turner years
Pompous Alan Turner certainly wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea when he became landlord in 1991, but the punters eventually grew to love him.
Alan brought about a great many changes within The Woolpack. He updated the drab décor and opened part of the building as a wine bar – which was unfortunately destroyed in the 1993 plan crash.
Alan’s wife, Shirley, joined him behind the bar. But tragedy struck and she was killed just months after they tied the knot.
Following Shirley’s death, Alan brought in a series of locals to manage the bar – including Terry and Britt Woods and Bernice Blackstock.
Alan’s granddaughter, Tricia Stokes also worked as a barmaid and almost burnt the pub down when she had an accident with a box of sparklers.
A heart attack in 1999 saw Alan step down as landlord, although he remained a resident in the village.
1999-2010: The Diane Sugden years (Part 1)
Bubby Geordie Diane Sugden was born to be a landlady. She was kind-hearted and a friend to all, but definitely didn’t take any nonsense and knew exactly how to keep the regulars in check.
Diane originally co-owned the Woolie with daughter Bernice Blackstock, then joined forces with Louise Appleton (played by Emily Symons – aka Home and Away’s Marilyn).
She also had a short-lived stint of running the pub with her sister, Val Pollard, but their volatile rows led Diane to buy her out.
After 11 years in charge, Diane also decided to sell up and relocate to France with fella Charlie Haynes.
2010: Jimmy and Nicola King
Jimmy and Nicola briefly took over the business from Diane, but were never really cut out for working behind a busy bar.
Loveable Jimmy did a better job of it, but let’s just say the locals didn’t exactly warm to his acerbic other-half.
Nicola soon realised she had quite enough on her plate caring for their young daughter, Angelica, so with that the Kings’ reign was over.
2010-2016: The Diane Sugden years (Part Two)
Diane returned to reclaim her throne, but realised she couldn’t cope on her own. Enter stage left Chas Dingle, who’d been pulling pints in the Woolpack for years and knew the place inside and out.
Together, the ladies were a force to be reckoned with and very popular with their punters.
But tragedy almost struck when Chas accidentally stabbed Diane after mistaking her for an intruder. Diane was rushed to hospital where doctors discovered she was suffering from cancer for a second time.
The shock diagnosis resulted in Diane reassessing her life and she sold her share of the pub to Chas.
2016-2021: Chas Dingle
With the baton in hand, Chas set about putting her own stamp on the pub. Chas’s cousin Charity Dingle bought into the business, but it was far from a harmonious working relationship.
Chas quickly grew tired of Charity’s laziness and sharp manner, so in the end she persuaded her cousin to sell her share to Marlon, The Woolpack’s long-standing chef.
This still kept things in the Dingle family, and thankfully for Chas, Marlon was a much more reliable business partner.
Tough financial times followed, but Chas’s ultimate downfall came when she allowed secret lover Al Chapman to buy into The Woolpack.
The bent businessman ended up torching the pub in an insurance scam, which forced Chas to sell up.
2022-present day: Charity Dingle and Ryan Stocks
After Al’s plans to convert The Woolpack into swanky flats went up in the flames (quite literally), the pub was put up for auction.
The highest bidders – and new owners – were revealed to be Charity Dingle and her son Ryan Stocks.
This time, Charity seems more willing to get stuck into the day to day running of the watering hole, while Ryan manages the financial side of things.
And Chas still has her hand in, working as the Woolpack’s bar manager.
Big moments in the Woolpack in Emmerdale
The Woolpack has been at the centre of many of the village’s biggest and most memorable dramas over the years. Let’s take a look at some of its greatest hits.
The 1993 plane crash – Chris Tate’s life-changing injuries
Alan Turner’s fancy wine bar was reduced to rubble when a plane crashed into the village in December 1993.
Home Farm resident Chris Tate was in the bar at the time and his injuries left him wheelchair-bound for the rest of his life.
The Woolpack was also badly damaged, and its old taproom required complete rebuilding.
The storm of 2003 – Tricia’s death
Disaster struck on New Year’s Eve 2003 when The Woolpack was hit by lighting during a terrible storm.
The bolt from the sky resulted in the pub’s roof to caving in, which caused one of its windows to collapse and fall on barmaid Tricia Dingle.
Poor Tricia didn’t stand a chance and tragically succumbed to her injuries in hospital a few days later.
The siege of 2013 – Cameron’s last hurrah
When another catastrophic storm battered the village in 2013, crazed Cameron Murray took several locals hostage inside The Woolpack.
Cameron let everyone go – apart from Chas and Debbie Dingle – who he trapped in the flooding cellar.
Marlon came to their rescue and the women escaped the rising floodwaters, but Cameron was electrocuted by the cellar light, instantly killing him.
The fire of 2021 – Al Chapman’s revenge
Villain Al Chapman set fire to The Woolpack in an insurance scam.
Al’s plan had been to force Chas and co to sell up the boozer to developers, but when that failed, he decided his only out was to burn the place to the ground.
He started the fire by putting a whisk in the microwave, which resulted in The Woolpack exploding.
Sisters Manpreet Sharma and Meena Julta were casualties of the blast, but mercifully no one died.
Births, marriages, deaths at the Woolpack in Emmerdale
Popular couple Aaron Dingle and Robert Sugden decided to hold their wedding in The Woolpack back in 2017.
The couple were in the middle of exchanging their vows when the police stormed the pub and arrested Aaron’s grandmother, Faith Dingle.
The Woolpack was also the setting for Seth Armstrong’s wake in 2005, who was one the pub’s most iconic regulars.
Chas Dingle also gave birth to baby Eve in the Woolie toilets, with just Marlon on hand to help her out!
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm.
Classic Emmerdale usually airs every weekday on ITV3 at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm.