Somerset villagers club together to raise £1m to save their beloved pub from developers

A QUINTESSENTIAL 15th century village pub reopened today after locals raised over £1million and used a little-known law to buy it back from developers.

And the first pint was poured by an 87-year-old who was born there when it was run by his family.

The Grade II-listed tavern Packhorse Inn in South Stoke, Somerset, closed its doors six years ago after it was bought by property developers who planned to turn it into flats.

This sparked anger among locals who back-tracked the sale by using the 2011 Localism Act to help turn the pub into a community asset.

They raised £1,025,000 through 470 investors - paying as little as £50 each - and bought it themselves.

It was finally reopened today by Brian Perkins, 87, who was born in the pub when it was owned by his family - and also had his wedding reception there with wife Edith, 88.

He said: " "I was very sad when the pub closed a few years ago, I would go to the pub every Sunday up until then.

"It was an honour to be asked to pour the first pint - a last bit of fame in my old age.

"I was born in a room above the area where the bar is in 1930 and later had my wedding reception there.

"Aged 21 I was posted to join Royal Engineers in Maidstone, Kent and when I arrived they said 'We're going overseas in a few days for two years.'"

Brian added:"I ran to a phone, rang Edith and said 'Can we get married at the weekend?'

"We had the reception back at the pub and 40 family members and close friends from the village turned out."

The stunning village pub is surrounded by a mix of Georgian homes and thatched cottages, and attracts walkers rambling in the surrounding valleys.

According to the carved stone above the door, the building was erected in 1674 - but historians say the pub dates back to 1498.

In March 2012, it was put up for sale by then-owners Punch Taverns and it was sold to the highest bidder.

They quickly revealed plans to turn it into a residential property and the village formed a committee with the aim of buying the pub back.

The pub's rescue has been partly down to the 2011 Localism Act, which meant it entered into Bath and North East Somerset Council's Assets of Community Value list in February 2013.

The new owner of the Packhorse announced their intention to sell so the village placed a bid for the building - but the offer was turned down.

However, under the Localism Act, the owner has to sell the property within a year, no matter who comes forward first, enabling a village society to buy it back.

Volunteers spent an estimated 1,000 hours sorting out the pub's garden and 25 skips of rubbish were removed from inside the pub - and 15 tons of earth shifted by hand.

It is on the site of a guesthouse used by monks and during renovation work, builders found a priest hole inside the home facade which was used to hide Catholic priests in the 16th century at a time when they were being persecuted.

It was re-opened this afternoon with scores of villagers turning out for the occasion.

Former engineer Brian said: "My gran Emily Rose was ahead of her time when she had the pub as she didn't think pubs should just be for men to drink in so she arranged meals such as afternoon tea and suppers for the village folk."

Injured British soldiers were rehabilitated in South Stoke during the Second World War and some would sneak into a nearby allotment where Brian would deliver five two-pint bottles from the pub.

Later, in 1943, he would do the same for American soldiers staying in the village.

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