Historic ceiling could stop Aldi being built in Westbury (From Wiltshire Times)

has anyone considered what it can be used for,hope it can be put to a sensible use,

Typical some do gooder interfering with another eye sore that has been empty since 1990 and will stay like that if its left. Time to move on we cant stay in the past for ever!! Planning has been passed, too late in my mind and the same for a lot more residents in Westbury who are sick of seeing buildings lying empty to then be vandalised and eventually knocked down anyway in years to come!! Why didnt the do gooders get involved before the plans have been known for many years!!!!

Why didn't Keith say something back in 2008??

Hardly the ceiling from the Sistine chapel is it!

Keith looks like he has a very bad case of w**k**s elbow.

This old pub is historical but why is it so important?
a few red bricks and old beams that no-one ever sees.
How about Aldi incorporating the beams into their new building where their alleged importance can be seen by shoppers every day, perhaps in the public convenience.

cght36 wrote:
Typical some do gooder interfering with another eye sore that has been empty since 1990 and will stay like that if its left. Time to move on we cant stay in the past for ever!! Planning has been passed, too late in my mind and the same for a lot more residents in Westbury who are sick of seeing buildings lying empty to then be vandalised and eventually knocked down anyway in years to come!! Why didnt the do gooders get involved before the plans have been known for many years!!!!

sorry cght36 youre wrong. i was working there in late 1991 and there has been another landlord since then who then sold it on after a while.... it has certainly been empty for quite a while but not since 1990 . its certainly an eyesore and i welcome the new supermarket...

the time for keith miller to have said something would have been when all the letters would have been sent out by the council asking for objections. he would have got one as he lives right opposite it.. i find it amusing that councilors past and present have signed the petition but kept their mouths shut in the past years knowing what was going to happen. and only stand up and be counted when someone s ticks their beaks in at the last possible moment available. starting to get a bib like the by pass.. people not affected by it certainly have their say and from miles away manage to put their spokes in.. surely the people of westbury should ultimately have the last say in what goes on in our town... not people from as far away as cumbria, hampshire and the like... that goes for bypass and the oak in.

carer 123 wrote:

cght36 wrote:
Typical some do gooder interfering with another eye sore that has been empty since 1990 and will stay like that if its left. Time to move on we cant stay in the past for ever!! Planning has been passed, too late in my mind and the same for a lot more residents in Westbury who are sick of seeing buildings lying empty to then be vandalised and eventually knocked down anyway in years to come!! Why didnt the do gooders get involved before the plans have been known for many years!!!!

sorry cght36 youre wrong. i was working there in late 1991 and there has been another landlord since then who then sold it on after a while.... it has certainly been empty for quite a while but not since 1990 . its certainly an eyesore and i welcome the new supermarket...

the time for keith miller to have said something would have been when all the letters would have been sent out by the council asking for objections. he would have got one as he lives right opposite it.. i find it amusing that councilors past and present have signed the petition but kept their mouths shut in the past years knowing what was going to happen. and only stand up and be counted when someone s ticks their beaks in at the last possible moment available. starting to get a bib like the by pass.. people not affected by it certainly have their say and from miles away manage to put their spokes in.. surely the people of westbury should ultimately have the last say in what goes on in our town... not people from as far away as cumbria, hampshire and the like... that goes for bypass and the oak in.

Just quoted date from the write up, though now rereading it says 1990's. Knock the **** thing down its an eye sore and I bet he will shop in it when its open!!!

cght36 wrote:
Typical some do gooder interfering with another eye sore that has been empty since 1990 and will stay like that if its left. Time to move on we cant stay in the past for ever!! Planning has been passed, too late in my mind and the same for a lot more residents in Westbury who are sick of seeing buildings lying empty to then be vandalised and eventually knocked down anyway in years to come!! Why didnt the do gooders get involved before the plans have been known for many years!!!!

It was still open when I left Matravers in '95

I believe there's a law that states any building that dates back to before 1700 is automatically given Grade II Listed building protection.

If this building can be proven to date back to the 16th century, then its safe to say that it will be listed & protected and Aldi will be forced to work around it.

Why stop at demolishing this one building. Bulldoze the whole of Westbury I say. The place is a blight on the A350. By-pass problem solved at a stroke.

garybillington wrote:
I believe there's a law that states any building that dates back to before 1700 is automatically given Grade II Listed building protection.

If this building can be proven to date back to the 16th century, then its safe to say that it will be listed & protected and Aldi will be forced to work around it.

good job this law is only recent or the place would be awash with ancient hovels, although they will probably up the date sometime.

carer 123 wrote:

cght36 wrote:
Typical some do gooder interfering with another eye sore that has been empty since 1990 and will stay like that if its left. Time to move on we cant stay in the past for ever!! Planning has been passed, too late in my mind and the same for a lot more residents in Westbury who are sick of seeing buildings lying empty to then be vandalised and eventually knocked down anyway in years to come!! Why didnt the do gooders get involved before the plans have been known for many years!!!!

sorry cght36 youre wrong. i was working there in late 1991 and there has been another landlord since then who then sold it on after a while.... it has certainly been empty for quite a while but not since 1990 . its certainly an eyesore and i welcome the new supermarket...

the time for keith miller to have said something would have been when all the letters would have been sent out by the council asking for objections. he would have got one as he lives right opposite it.. i find it amusing that councilors past and present have signed the petition but kept their mouths shut in the past years knowing what was going to happen. and only stand up and be counted when someone s ticks their beaks in at the last possible moment available. starting to get a bib like the by pass.. people not affected by it certainly have their say and from miles away manage to put their spokes in.. surely the people of westbury should ultimately have the last say in what goes on in our town... not people from as far away as cumbria, hampshire and the like... that goes for bypass and the oak in.

I frequented this pub in mid-late 90s and also remember the glove factory still being at the end in the mid 90s. I can date this memory because when I was walking to work a summer job in 1994, there were crowds of people lining the road as the factory had a royal visitor, though I can't remember who. When Oval first took the building on to extend their car lot they used it as offices. It is them that let it get into the state it was in. When Heritage took over Oval it was left to rot as they were obviously planning to take the Peugeot franchise out of the town centre and had no intention to spend any money on its upkeep. The old kitchen and other parts were demolished today (31/10) and I can only imagine the rest will follow.

The royal visitor was, if I remember correctly, the Duke of Kent, who was presenting an enterprise award at the Reynolds and Kent glove factory.

The Oak Inn certainly was open during the mid-90s, which I know because by that point I had spent most of my childhood growing up there, and I doubt anyone here will know the features of the building better than I do. If you happen to be passing the debris, look out for my name written in a chunk of plaster over the wattle and daub from upstairs.

It's true that I no longer live in Westbury, but with town planning decisions like these having been made for decades, it's no wonder that so many commenters who once had links with the area have long gone further afield.

Gone but definitely not forgotten. Cheers :)