Family values at The Leathern Bottle

April 7, 2025

Julie & Les Gordon, business owners at The Leathern Bottle, Lewknor

It’s impressive enough that Julie & Les Gordon have been business owners at The Leathern Bottle in Lewknor for 27 years. Then add the 18 years that Julie’s dad and stepmother Michael & Lesley Fletcher ran it before them, and you start to see why consistency and family values sit at the heart of this pub’s success.

Julie & Les, who had trained as a chef with Trusthouse Forte, started working in the pub in 1988, becoming the business owners 10 years later when Michael & Lesley retired. Julie says: “The Leathern Bottle was our home, where we were raising our three children. We loved the pub, the village, the work – and we still do.”

The traditional country remains largely the same today.  “Dad put the pub on the map,” says Julie. “We’ve built on that, and its reputation continues to grow; even on holiday abroad we meet people who’ve heard of it.”

The completion in 1991 of the M40 passing five minutes from Lewknor was a ‘game changer’, says Les.

“There were no services initially, so drivers had to turn off for food. Our lunchtime trade trebled almost overnight.”

The pub became a popular place for friends and family in Oxford and London to meet, alongside walkers enjoying beautiful walks, and cyclists.

The Leathern Bottle’s continuing appeal is, says Julie, down to its inclusive, relaxed atmosphere, coupled with consistently high standards. She explains: “We’ve always welcomed children and we get a lot of families dining with us early evening – many of them customers we remember as children, now bringing their own kids.”

She added, “We’re lucky to have a fantastic, loyal team. Karen has worked with us for 20 years, Cathy for 16 and Callum for 10 years. In that time, they’ve got to know the pub as well as we do, and we’ve supported each other through all sorts of life events.

“We really are one big family here, and that’s why it works.”

The Leathern Bottle is one of an elite band of pubs to have featured in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide for 50 years, an achievement marked with a presentation by CAMRA’s branch secretary Paul Dixon (left) to Julie & Gordon last autumn.

Julie & Les’s Top Tips

• Running a pub is hard work: put in the effort and it will pay off, but don’t expect it to be easy.
• Love your customers: if you’re not a people person, don’t run a pub! Your business depends on your customers and you have to be there for them – even on the days when you’re not feeling it.
• Lead by example: all our new team members spend a lot of time with one of us, so they learn how we do things. That’s the only way to ensure consistency.