Press

This is Gwent
April 17, 2006
Source

Pub on the up after villagers’ buyout

BUSINESS is booming at a country pub just eight months after it was saved from possible closure.

Six regulars at the Angel Inn, in Grosmont, Monmouthshire, forked out £250,000 to buy their local because they feared it would either shut because of falling trade or be taken over by a chain.

Now business is improving and the pub is back at the centre of village life. It is even set to star in a big-screen movie next year.

Rob Barker, 54, was one of the six who stumped up cash.

“Everything’s going really well and sales have picked up,” said Mr Barker, a self-employed builder.

When the six completed the purchase of the Angel in July last year the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) encouraged other villagers in the UK to do likewise, in an effort to preserve country pubs.

Mr Barker, whose wife, Margie, is the bar manager, thanked villagers who have supported the pub and said he knew of other places in Wales where locals were considering buying the bars to guarantee they would stay open.

CAMRA says one pub shuts every week in Wales, but the Angel’s film role is likely to further boost its popularity, and Mr Barker welcomed the crew to the sleepy village.

“They are very nice people, they’re all so friendly,” he said.

The pub has been temporarily renamed The Daffodil while stars, including Michael Gambon and Damian Lewis, shoot The Baker, a comedy set in the remote Welsh village.

“Everyone here is pretty excited,” said Mr Barker.

“Damian Lewis is such a nice guy and he knows everybody by their first names already.”

The film-makers scoured Wales several months ago to find a village suiting their needs before settling on Grosmont.

Mr Barker said: “It’s ideal for what they wanted and they liked the friendly atmosphere here.”

The film is about a contract killer who goes on the run and ends up in the Welsh village, where he is mistaken for the new baker.

Last week the Argus told how scenes were being shot in the tea rooms, castle and church, with villagers taking roles as extras.