Pub furniture has helped one Northamptonshire community not only to rescue their local public house, but also to create a unique shopping experience that has brought commerce back to their village.
The Kings Head in Apethorpe was closed for a length of time, until the local villagers combined their resources to buy it; in 2008, it was bought out by Stephen Wells, who had been employed as manager since it reopened.
Its significance to the local community was already greater than many pubs in other areas, as with no village hall, the Kings Head was an important meeting place for Apethorpe residents.
But under the Pub is the Hub scheme, an innovation created in response to HRH Prince Charles's desire to see community pubs achieve their full potential, the Kings Head was soon to become not just a pub, but a shop and cafe too.
At a cost of around £5,000, which was provided in full by the pub's owners, a small games area was transformed into a village shop and coffee bar, within the walls of the existing pub.
The pub furniture already in place was used to display items for sale, creating an idiosyncratic fusion of pub and shop, and retaining the character of the venue.
A case study from Pub is the Hub lists the lessons that should be applied to similar projects elsewhere in order to ensure success:
- Attention to detail and strong desire to make the pub into a true community hub;
- Focus on positioning the shop within the pub layout for effective integration;
- Recognition of the low overall costs that can still lead to success.
Pub is the Hub is aimed particularly at rural communities, and was one of the initiatives recognised on July 14th at a Westminster reception.
The event was held in honour of the Prince's Countryside Fund, which provides grants to support projects in rural locations, and coincided with the start of National Countryside Week.
Particular attention was paid to the work done by the Fund in Wales, where nine projects have received support since the inception of the Fund in 2010.