The rural villages of Hougham and Marston have a combined population of around 600 people in 221 houses. There is no other pub, shop, café or other communal space and there is no public transport through either village, further limiting the opportunities. When the pub…
Stag Inn, Maidwell, Northamptonshire
Maidwell is a village in Northamptonshire with over 300 inhabitants. The A508 road runs through its western end and the village is about halfway between the market town of Market Harborough, Leicestershire, and the county town of Northampton which is about 7 miles south. There has been a pub on the site…
Red Lion, Needham, Norfolk
Background The Red Lion is the only pub in the rural Norfolk village of Needham, situated 10 miles from Diss with a population of just over 300 people. Licensees Sue and Joe Massey with their son Michael have been the hosts for the last eleven…
Ploughshare, Beeston, Norfolk
Beeston is a village in the county of Norfolk, in the civil parish of Beeston with Bittering. The heart of Beeston was originally clustered around the church but is now a scattered village with its heart nearly a mile east of the original village. Beeston has been a thriving village…
Horse and Groom, Tunstead, Norfolk
Background The Horse and Groom is the only pub in the rural village of Tunstead, situated 11 miles north east of the city of Norwich, and close to the Norfolk Broads. The pub had been closed for 6 months when Gilly Foulds purchased the pub…
Green Dragon, Exelby, North Yorkshire
Background Exelby is a small rural Dales community of about 80 households about 3 miles from the market town of Bedale in North Yorkshire. In the past the Green Dragon traded successfully as a traditional village community free house but when the owners retired the…
Black Pig, Staple, Kent
The Black Pig is a traditional oak beamed pub on the edge of the village of Staple (population 700) which is a dormitory for Canterbury, Deal and the North Kent Coast. The current licensee, Billy Morgan, took on the pub, which was then closed, in…
Lamarsh Lion, Lamarsh, Essex
Background The Lamarsh lion Community Pub is situated 4 miles from Sudbury in the beautiful Stour valley on the Essex/Suffolk border. There has been a pub, inn or staging post on the site since 1305 and it is said that the artists, Gainsborough and Constable,…