Vicar steps in to rescue a community-owned pub

(photo opportunity with vicar taking place from 2-4 pm on 8th Dec) 

A team of volunteers, including the local vicar, will be stepping up to help run the Brewers Arms in West Malvern after the local community raised over £400,000 to buy the pub after it closed and looked unlikely to reopen.

The Brewers Arms in West Malvern is a small and charming stone-built pub perched high on the western slopes of the Malvern Hills. The 190-year-old pub with fabulous views closed in June, with its future uncertain. The move prompted the local community into action, and in little more than six weeks 437 individuals raised over £400,000 to buy the place to run themselves. Since taking ownership, a small army of unpaid volunteers have dedicated themselves to knocking it into shape.

Despite these efforts, the team has been unable to source a landlord or landlady to run it ahead of its reopening date on the 10th of December. A team of volunteers will therefore be filling the breach, including the vicar of the parish, the Reverend Rebecca Elliott, who will be doing a few shifts serving behind the bar. The Reverend, who’s church St. James, is just a pint glass’s throw from the Brewers Arms and – what is more – is the final resting place of Roget (of thesaurus fame), will also bless the beer barrels too.

The Reverend Rebecca said: “Like the church and the school, the pub is a key part of our local community. Therefore, at its time of need, I’m delighted to be able to chip-in and do my bit. I’m quite looking forward to pulling a few pints, whilst also enjoying meeting up with local people.”

Meanwhile, the hunt for the right person (or people) to run the Brewers Arms goes on.

The team of volunteers set to run the pub includes the licence-holder, Mark Haslam, who said: “The Brewers Arms is a delightful pub, and we refuse to believe there aren’t the right people out there who want to become a key part of our vibrant and ‘can do’ community.”