Festive tradition revived after lost statue found

The Old General has been dressed as Santa - honouring an old Nottingham tradition

A landmark pub statue which was lost in 2016 has been given its first Christmas makeover since its rediscovery.

The statue was once placed above the entrance to the Old General pub in Radford, Nottingham, but disappeared when the premises closed in 2016.

It was then found earlier this year at a charity shop and adopted by the Castle Rock Brewery, which placed it in the beer garden of the Vat and Fiddle pub.

The statue used to be known for being dressed as Santa every Christmas and its new home has now revived the tradition by wrapping it in a red and white outfit, complete with its own beard.

Paul Willett remembers driving past the statue in its Christmas regalia in the 1960s

Paul Willett, 74, remembers driving past the statue in its Christmas regalia while on the school bus in the 1960s.

"In the winter it was always dressed up as Santa Claus.

"It was a symbol whenever you saw it that it was nearly Christmas. It's great."

Jessica Collins, marketing manager at Cast Rock Brewery, said people "really missed" seeing the statue all dressed up

Jessica Collins, marketing manager at Castle Rock Brewery, said the staff had been looking forward to dressing the Old General Statue as Father Christmas since it resurfaced.

"I think people really missed seeing him all dressed up when he was gone," she added. "So it's really lovely to be able to bring that tradition back.

"We've had to improvise slightly with the costume because the one that was donated to us didn't fit.

"We were prepared to cut and sew, but we couldn't even close it, so we've used a couple of nice red velvet capes but we think he looks really good for it."

Castle Rock Brewery said its next challenge would be to restore the statue in the new year.

The Old General statue was a Nottingham landmark before it initially disappeared in 2016

The figure of the Old General is based on a Nottingham character called Benjamin Mayo.

Mr Mayo had no military background - despite his nickname - and was known to wander the streets selling news sheets and pamphlets.

He had malformed legs, was said to be only about 4ft (1.2m) tall and it is believed he was 64 when he died in 1843.