Villagers left devasted after local closes in Newbold-on-Stour
VILLAGERS have been left “devastated” after their much-loved local pulled the last pints and closed its doors in Newbold-on-Stour on Sunday.
Last orders were called at the White Hart Inn which has been described by villagers as being at the very hub of the community and was a popular watering hole in the centre of the village on the Stratford Road.
Landlord John Harkin and his wife, Ann, have been running the pub for 13 months with their business partner and have received the support of regulars who helped scrub the floors and looked after flower beds when John first took over.
John, aged 60, has been in the licensing trade for 40 years and his team of staff has worked enthusiastically to welcome people through the doors of the historic inn.
“The White Hart is a community asset and villagers are up in arms now that it’s closed,” John said. “We have dragged the pub up and we have a fantastic atmosphere with everyone involved. We have many shared memories like carol singing in front of the fire with Shipston Choir last Christmas. We’ve had Morris dancers at the pub and I celebrated my 60th with the regulars at the bar. I shall miss them and have an overwhelming sense of gratitude to all of them.”
In what John describes as a “contractual matter” with Heineken over the management of the pub he said he had tried talking with the brewing giant but it had not been prepared to talk with him. The matter surfaced within the last couple of weeks.
He signed a temporary management agreement which lasts for 12 months after which there is the option to discuss a new contract lasting four years but – he says - the rent has gone up and there was a rumoured third hike of beer prices which he claims would have “ruined us financially.”
“This didn’t sit well with us and there’s no leeway for landlords, it feels like a like it or lump it situation almost like ripping the rug from under us,” John said.
News of the inn’s closure has also hit the community hard.
Gillian Marsden, churchwarden said: ““Closing the White Hart will have a big impact on our special services. Guests attending Remembrance Sunday, weddings, funerals, especially wakes, will be at a loss. The White Hart is very much a core hub in the village and it’s loss will be devasting to all the villagers.”
Karen Gould, who lives near the inn added: “The village is in shock and it’s depressing. John and Ann made everybody so welcome and it was somewhere to go and meet friends.”