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Tributes have been paid to the former owner of The Crown Hotel in Biggleswade, who has died at the age of 102.

Nora Balfe, one of a family of seven girls and four boys, was born in Sneem, Ireland, where her parents ran a farm.

She lived and worked in Dublin for a number of years and met her husband Jimmy before the couple moved to the UK in the 1950s to start a new life, first running a pub in Ipswich where they had two daughters.

Nora was asked to cut the ribbon on the reopening of the Crown Hotel in 2017

They then settled in Luton, where Nora worked at Electrolux, later moving to Biggleswade to open The Crown in the High Street – which they ran from 1962-1985 – and to bring up their four children.

Their daughter, Tricia Annessa, said: “They built the business up with hard work and giving the customers the best possible service, home cooked foods and a good well stocked bar.

"The crown hotel had nine bedrooms and two bar areas. The back /smoke bar for the men and the front bar/ lounge bar was for ladies. There was no central heating and it was very run down, needing a lot of repairs and new furnishings.

"Their bar lunches menu was very popular. They also had a great business with daily coach parties serving lunch in the dining room. There was also a large function room upstairs, where they would hold weddings and parties for the local people.

Nora and Jimmy Balfe pictured with their two sons at the hotel when it had two separate bars

“My parents were both well known in Biggleswade, and retired due to my father’s ill health, moving to a house in London Road, Biggleswade. My father died in 1995 and my mother remained in the town.”

"She was a very independent lady who took great pleasure in helping others and was an active devout member of St Peter’s Catholic Church. She always took pride in her appearance, and was affectionately known as Grandma lipstick by some of her grandchildren, as she would always wear lipstick,” added Tricia.

When the business was acquired by JD Weatherspoon in 2017, Nora, then aged 96, had the honour of cutting the ribbon at the opening ceremony.

The refurbishment of the pub also included a mosaic depicting Samuel Pepys’ visit to Biggleswade and the Great Fire of 1785 which started in the yard of The Crown and was responsible for burning down a third of the town.

Nora Balfe, the former owner/manager of The Crown Hotel, has died aged 102

Members of the Biggleswade History Society worked on the main figure and the final mosaic tile was put in place by Nora.

Nora and Jimmy had four children, Paul, Jimmy Jr, Mary and Patricia, and six grandchildren.

A religious woman, Nora often visited places of pilgrimage including Fatima, Lourdes and Medjugorje and was at Phoenix Park when Pope John Paul II visited Ireland in 1979. She also loved returning to Ireland and her home town of Sneem.

She spent her 100 birthday in a Catholic nursing home in North West London where she was well cared for until she died on June 15, aged 102.