South Stoke, Bath
The Packhorse Inn was one of the Bath area’s oldest and much-loved pubs. The 17th-century building, set in a large garden, is full of character: with flagstone floors, original timber beams and inglenook fireplaces. It was a refuge valued by locals and walkers alike. A cosy, friendly and quintessentially British pub!
The Packhorse was closed in 2012, when the brewery sold it to a private developer, but has recently been bought back by the local community after they ran successful campaign to secure the future of their village pub. It is currently undergoing a huge transformation and refurbishment and they hope re-open later this year.
The pub is set within a landscape rich in history, and extensive Romano-British occupation is known in the immediate vicinity of the site. Wessex Archaeology is currently undertaking a watching brief on groundworks in the carpark to make sure that all historic assets are correctly recorded taking the local community one step closer to re-opening.
Fundraising is still on-going and there are regular events and ‘pop-ups’ which are proving very popular in the area. If you want to find out more and support this community effort you can find them on Facebook ‘Save the Packhorse’ and join them in the twittersphere @PackhorseBath