The Bell: December 2009 news

The rumours that someone is buying the Bell are well founded.

I am delighted to confirm that a private company largely owned by local residents (i.e. within five miles of North Marston) completed the purchase just before Christmas.

Our plan is to refurbish the existing building over the coming months, without any major external changes, and we aim to re-open during the spring. We would like to create a village, community pub/restaurant that will appeal to the widest range of local residents. We hope that it will be a family pub and that you will enjoy visiting whether it is for eating out or simply to pop in for a drink with friends.

I and my colleague John Gregory are directors of the companies which own the Bell and the Unicorn in Cublington. We have owned the Unicorn for some six years where it is central to the village community. This is the model we would like to follow for the Bell. We have just completed a major overhaul of the Unicorn and would be delighted to see you there, when you would get a first hand idea of the type of establishment we will be trying to recreate.

Both John and I would welcome any input you might like to provide, particularly at this formative stage of our planning. If you would care to contact us, please do so via email which can be found under 'Feedback' on the Unicorn (a website will be created for The Bell in due course).

We look forward to hearing from you and meeting you at the Bell.