Elizabeth Seddon, better known in local legend as “Hell Bess”, wasn’t your average pub barmaid. El worked in the
Hell Bess Arms in St. Helens (back when it was Lancashire), and she ran it with iron fists, a sharp tongue, and a heart as big as her bar tab.

In a time when rowdy miners, chemics, glassworkers and soldiers, would pour into the pub looking for trouble (and usually finding it),
Hell Bess didn’t just pour the drinks, she kept the peace. And by “kept the peace,” we mean she could eject a brawler mid-pint without spilling her own.

Locals didn’t call her “Hell Bess” for nothing. The name stuck like ale to a bar mat and eventually spread to the streets:
Hell Bess Lane, Hell Bess Brow, and of course, the Hell Bess Arms itself. Over time, polite society dropped the “Hell”, but we’re bringing it back, with respect, alot of mischief, and a decent dram.

She was tough, she was fair, and she didn’t suffer fools, the kind of woman who’d serve whisky in one hand and justice with the other. That legacy lives on in the Hell Bess brand: whisky, rum, gin, and jerky that don’t mess about.

Elizabeth Seddon: the original hard-pouring, hard-hitting icon.
We don’t just raise a glass to her, we put her name on the bottle.

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