Following the announcement that they would be shutting for a period of refurbishment at the turn of the year, the sudden closure of the Weighbridge Inn in mid-January still came as a surprise to many regulars.
The award-winning pub had been part of the Muirhouse stable since 2019, run by Mandy and Richard Muir, and its walls proudly told the story of that success. Framed awards celebrated their much-loved beers Tick Tock Boom and Magnum Mild, while a string of honours from the Burton & South Derbyshire CAMRA Pub of the Year competition marked it out as one of the town’s standout locals: third place in 2022, runner-up in both 2023 and 2024, and third again in 2025.
So when the doors closed unexpectedly, it felt like the end of a chapter.
But as it turns out, it was only the interval.
In early March came the news that the pub would be reopening, a new name, new management and a new start.
“My name’s Phil Chilton, most people call me Chillo, and my other half is Laura Illsley,” he says, introducing himself. Though in truth, many Burton drinkers will already know him.
Chillo has spent most of his working life in the pub trade. He first stepped behind a bar in the late 1980s before taking on his first pub, the Berkeley Arms in Waterloo Street, in 1993. He ran it until 1996, and over the years that followed he became a familiar face in pubs across the town.
In 2011 he took on the Royal Oak in Horninglow, running it for five years before moving on to the Oak & Ivy.
“I had seven mostly enjoyable years there,” he says. “But after COVID things changed. Carlsberg got involved and it wasn’t the same, in the end I decided it was time to call it a day.”
For a while, the pub game seemed to be behind him, until an unexpected opportunity reminded him how much he missed it.
“Last September we were asked if we’d look after the Navigation in Horninglow for a couple of weeks until the new landlady could take over,” he explains. “We really enjoyed it and realised how much we’d missed being behind the bar.”
And there was one pub in particular that had always caught their eye.
“We used to drink in the Weighbridge and always liked its quirkiness and relaxed atmosphere,” he says. “We’d even said before that if it ever became available, we’d love to have a go at it.”
When the pub closed earlier this year, Chillo picked up the phone and contacted the previous owners. Conversations followed, plans were made and before long a new future for the building was taking shape.
When the doors reopen, the pub will also have a new name: The Coppersmiths Inn.
The name is a personal tribute to Laura’s father, Tom Flanagan, who worked in the Ind Coope engineering department as a coppersmith from the 1970s until his retirement in 1997, a small but fitting nod to Burton’s proud brewing heritage.
The name isn’t the only change. The couple have already been busy giving the place a refresh, the interior now sports a new blue colour scheme and one of the most noticeable alterations is to the wall that previously split the bar into two.
“We’ve put a window through it which really opens the space up, we’d have loved to take the whole wall down, but it’s load-bearing, the landlord wouldn’t allow that!” laughs Chillo.
Behind the bar, meanwhile, the focus will firmly be on good beer.
When The Coppersmiths Inn opens, four cask ales will be on offer: a traditional bitter, a modern Citra-forward ale, a stout and an IPA.
Chillo is a passionate supporter of real ale and is particularly excited to be running a free-of-tie pub.
“As we build the trade we’d like to expand the choice of both cask and keg,” he says. “And we’ll always listen to customers about what they’d like to see on as guest beers.”
He’s also well aware that he’s stepping into a pub with a strong reputation.
“The Weighbridge had built a great following,” he says. “We respect that and want to make it our own at the same time. The aim now is to make The Coppersmiths Inn a success on its own merit.”
And for Burton drinkers, it means the lights are coming back on behind another bar, proof that in a brewing town, good pubs rarely stay closed for long.