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 more than £400,000 to buy the pub.
It’s a small and charming stone-built pub, perched high on the western slopes of the Malvern Hills. The 190-year-old pub, which has fabulous views, closed in June with its future uncertain.
The move prompted the local community into action. In little more than six weeks, 437 individuals raised more than £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 re-opening date on the 10th December. A team of volunteers will, therefore, be filling the breach, including the vicar of the parish, the Rev Rebecca Elliott. Rebecca, whose church, St James, is just a pint glass’s throw from the Brewers Arms, will also bless the beer barrels.
She 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. Licence holder, Mark Haslam, 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.”
• West Malvern is the final resting place of Roget, of thesaurus fame, who is buried, interred, at peace there.
