Monday 23 January 2017

Greyhound closes



Regular readers will be aware that I have been keeping a close eye on a pub which has been under threat of closure since last summer. The Greyhound, a tucked away pub in the tiny hamlet of Charcott, is just a 10 minute walk from my workplace, and is a very pleasant late-Victorian country pub.

The Greyhound had been up for sale for the past two years, and the people responsible are our old friends Enterprise Inns. Last summer the landlord and his wife moved onto pastures new after struggling, and failing, to sell on the lease, but fortunately local brewers Larkin’s, stepped into the breach, and took on the lease; albeit on a temporary basis.

Since that time, I have posted a number of regular updates of how the pub’s been doing, but sadly, I now have to report, the Greyhound closed at the weekend; possibly for good. The reason for the closure is Enterprise Inns, have found a buyer for the pub. Details are pretty sketchy at present, but the obvious concern is that the pub will be converted to residential use, thus depriving local residents of their only pub.

The closure was officially marked by a party, held on Saturday night, but given the Greyhound’s isolated position, Larkin’s, in conjunction with James the outgoing temporary landlord, agreed to open the pub, on  Sunday lunchtime, specially for local CAMRA members and friends. This really was people’s last chance to enjoy a few pints at this attractive rural pub; certainly under its present custodians, and possibly for ever. 

A full report will follow in due course; including a description of the interesting and scenic walk to the pub, made by a group of us. In the meantime, I just wanted to let people know the Greyhound is currently closed; its fate unknown, but local residents, in conjunction with CAMRA, submitted an application for ACV listing to the local council, prior to Christmas, and the outcome of this will be made public next month.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

More bad news to start the year. Do you think the growth in craft places like Pantiles Tap and Fuggles balances the closures Paul ? (that's not a leading question by the way !).
Martin

RedNev said...

Fingers crossed, as it looks and sounds a nice pub.

Paul Bailey said...

Martin, I don’t think the growth in urban craft establishments balances out the closure of rural pubs at all. The two are inherently different and cater to completely different markets.

Beer enthusiasts, like me, may well be happy using both types of places, and switching between the two, but here is a whole world of difference between a pint of cask in a tranquil rural pub (particularly after having walked there), and a pint of cutting-edge craft, in a busy and buzzing town-centre café-bar.

Unfortunately Nev, there are a number of factors which militate against an investor buying the Greyhound and keeping it open as a pub. I will go into these in a later article, but whilst “Never say never”, the sad fact is that my friends and I are probably some of the last people to have drank in the pub.