Tan Hill () is a high point on the Pennine Way in North Yorkshire, England. It lies north of Keld in the civil parish of Muker, near the borders of County Durham and Westmorland, and close to the northern boundary of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. It fell within the historic boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire. It is in an isolated location, the nearest town of Kirkby Stephen is by road.
The Tan Hill Inn is the highest inn in the British Isles at 1,732 feet (528 m) above sea level.
Coal mining
The Upper Howgate Edge Grit is a coarse-grained sandstone within the Pendleian, the lower subsystem of the Carboniferous structure. Found in the peaks of the highest fells of North Yorkshire, the shale layer containing coal lies above it. The shale under the northwest region is called the Tan Hill seam, and was worked from the 13th century until the early 1930s.
The first records of coal being produced are from 1384, when locally worked shallow shafts produced coal for Richmond Castle.
With modern means of transport having encroached on the valley, the local miners defied the 1926 General Strike. When better coal became more easily available, the local coal became less desirable and the last mine closed in 1929. Locals worked the residual upper seams by hand until the mid-1930s.
The building dates to the 17th century, and during the 18th century was used as a hostelry by workers digging coal pits, It is unusual for its isolation, but it was previously surrounded by miners' cottages. In addition to miners, farmers and pedlars, frequent visitors at the inn included drovers leading cattle to the coal pits.
After the closure of the last mine in 1929, and demolition of the associated cottages in the early 1930s, the pub remained open due to the patronage of local farmers and the development of the motor car.
From 1974, boundary changes moved it into County Durham, but this was reviewed in 1987 after much protest, and it reverted to within the Yorkshire boundary. In 1995, the Tan Hill Inn became the first public house in the UK to be granted a licence to hold weddings and civil ceremonies, after new laws were established to allow couples to marry in places other than churches or register offices.
The pub is a free house and has served a range of beers from the Black Sheep and Theakston breweries. Visiting bands have included Arctic Monkeys, Mark Ronson and British Sea Power.
Revellers celebrating New Year's Eve at the pub on 31 December 2009 were unable to leave the pub for three days as they were snowed in.
The pub made headlines worldwide once again in November 2021, when Storm Arwen brought heavy snowfall, trapping patrons inside for a weekend.
Plans for improvement
In July 2017 the pub was put up for sale by landlady Louise Peace who had run it for 13 years with her husband Mike. In 2019, the facility was encouraging camper vans and caravans and campers to stay for a moderate nightly fee, and a venue for live music acts was in operation. The guest rooms were refurbished in 2019, and electrical work completed; the other plans for improvements were still in the works. Additional plans for the future included a rustic spa and outdoor pool.
Media appearances
During the 1980s the pub appeared in an advert starring Ted Moult for replacement-window company Everest, and it appeared in the first Vodafone advert, broadcast during the 1990s. The inn was visited by James May and Oz Clarke in Oz and James Drink to Britain, first broadcast in 2009.
In late 2017, the inn again featured in TV coverage, for Waitrose supermarkets' Christmas advertising campaign.
In May 2019, scenes for ITV show Vera were filmed, for an episode aired in January 2020. --->