Overseeing a small island dominated by a castle, seals and a pub, an English council is searching for a new king or queen.

Claimants to the ancient throne, carved from old oak and soaked in the beer of coronations past, can apply for the job through the local government’s website.

The job listing, posted this week by the Barrow Borough Council in Cumbria, is technically seeking someone to run the pub on Piel Island, half a mile off England’s northwestern coast. Winters are wet, travel is limited and an eccentric tradition of naming a king survives at the island’s old pub.

“We’re not talking about St. Lucia or the Hawaiian islands,” said John Murphy, a 73-year-old resident of nearby Walney Island, and the guide of walking tours of the area for four decades. “We’re talking about a small and very isolated island in the north of England.”

The primary responsibility of the position, called a landlord, is to run the pub, called the Ship Inn, and to manage and maintain the island’s roughly 50 acres of grass, rock and sand. Neighbours include four private cottages and a 14th-century castle with a history of medieval monks, Scottish raiders and a pretender to the English throne.

After the previous landlord retired, Ann Thomson, the leader of the borough council, announced the search for a new one, describing the island as “an absolute jewel in the borough’s crown”.

But she said the successful applicant would need to be dedicated to the task. “While there are periods when the pub and the island is bustling with people,” she said, “there will be periods of quiet too — something the successful applicant will need to embrace.” The council is seeking someone who will make a 10-year commitment.

The council described the custom that sets the job apart: “Tradition holds that each new landlord is crowned ‘King of Piel’ in a ceremony of uncertain origin.”

Tony Callister, another member of the council, said on Wednesday that the custom would continue. “The person coming in gets the title of King of Piel, which is nice to have, and there’s no reason for that to change,” he said.

The origin of the ceremony may be obscure because the pub, said to be over 300 years old, also has a murky history. It may also be because the title probably originated from a 19th-century pub game and the ceremony involves a lot of beer. Seated in the old chair, outfitted with a rusty helmet and sword, each new landlord gets a gallon of beer poured on their head, Murphy said.

He said the new landlord also swears an oath whose terms include being a good smoker, a good drinker, and “to give anyone found dead on the sands free refuge in the pub”.

New York Times News Service