Shareholders who have helped to rescue a historic village pub in a £1.2 million project are getting the chance to look inside before refurbishment and renovation work starts.
Members of the Limpley Stoke Community Benefit Society Limited are conducting ‘hard hat’ history tours of the 16th century Hop Pole coaching inn for the shareholders and other interested parties.
Garry and Tish Peagram, two shareholders from nearby Freshford, said: "It's fantastic to see our beloved Hop Pole Inn being resurrected again.
“It was always such a central, social hub for the village so it will be wonderful to have it at the heart of our community again and we're very happy to be firm supporters of the project."
The history tours began last week with architect James Sibson describing the period features and what’s going to happen inside the pub to bring it back to life.
He says the Hop Pole is the oldest known pub in England with that name. There are only 13 Hop Pole pubs throughout the UK, many of them less than 150 years old.
Mr Sibson added: “We don’t know exactly when the Hop Pole was built but the original building was a single-storey hall house and probably dates from the mid to late 1500s and, if used as an ale house from its earliest date, could be one of the oldest surviving public houses in England.
“One of its former landlords, James Male, spiked the Russian guns at Sebastopol during the Crimean War and was so famous that a song, ‘The Midshipmite’, was written in his honour by the Bristol songwriter Fred Weatherly, and his funeral was featured in many newspapers.
“The Hop Pole also features in the popular Ealing Comedy, the Titfield Thunderbolt (1953) and plays a role in the Remains of the Day film (1988) starring Sir Anthony Hopkins.”
The Hop Pole is being restored and modernised by local building contractors Ken Biggs with help from a £300,000 grant awarded last December from the Government’s UK Community Ownership Fund.
The Benefit Society plans to renovate the pub for community use after locals were given just four weeks by the Wellington Pub Company in February 2022 to raise £300,000 to buy the building.
Some of the volunteers and companies helping to restore elements of the pub, such as the ironwork, masonry and glazing for the windows, are giving their time and materials for free or at cost.
Mr Sibson said: "This charity is critical to the success of the project. We're excited that these people are making our project possible.
"We hope others will join them to help ensure the community can realise its ambition to complete the restoration, and extension in the next 12 months."
The work is being done in three phases, with the first to secure the outside of the pub, including re-roofing, replacing and painting windows, and repointing the walls.
The second phase will address the pub interior and includes bringing the electrical wiring, plumbing and damp-proofing up to the latest standards.
The third phase is not likely to take place until next year and includes installing a new kitchen and toilets, including facilities for people with disabilities.
Simon Coombe, who chairs the Limpley Stoke Community Benefit Society Ltd, said: “We are hoping to complete all this work in time to reopen next summer.”
The group is trying to raise a further £300,000 towards the £870,000 it has already raised through grants and a community share issue.
The LSCBS committee are still selling a minimum of 200 shares for a £200 investment. The maximum investment is £25,000.
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