Our Trainee Communications Officer, Michael Wolverson, visited The White Horse in Stonesfield, Oxfordshire, a community pub that has re-opened its doors to the public.
The pub is a classic English Village Inn, with history and character. Its Cotswold stone exterior and welcoming atmosphere make it an ideal spot for tourists and locals alike. With a strong community spirit, it offers locally sourced brews, friendly staff, and a warm ambience.
I sat down with Committee Chair, Pete Smyth, who shared his insights about the pub’s journey, from the initial process, their assitance from Plunkett to their relationship with the local community and suppliers, as well as how the pub is currently doing.
Pete said: “The White House, which is another local community-owned pub, gave us lots of tips, but one of the biggest pieces of advice was to sign up to Plunkett. We were told that they will hold your hand through the entire process and it has been very helpful. The variety of the training modules and briefing documents on there was incredibly useful for what we had to do.”
Local Suppliers
Pete described how the Real Ox Brewery are a key local supplier and how they were influential to them in the process of opening.
“We have a great relationship with Little Ox Brewery, who are incredibly good. They supply us with ale, which has had great reviews from the customers. Also, they helped us fit and renovate the cellar, which was pretty tired when we arrived, so we can’t thank them enough.”
Local community
In addition to serving drinks and food, there’s a strong commitment to working closely with the rest of the community, including the school and the social club
Pete explained how they stay connected with the village hall and the nearby social club, sharing and supporting each other. They often collaborate on hosting the local quiz and proudly display artwork created by the local school!
Emma and Josh, bartenders who kindly served us at our visit!
Dinosaur artwork produced by the local school!
How we can help
We provide practical advice, business support and training to help communities establish and run innovative and inclusive community businesses that make a positive impact for local people.
We are proud to have supported The White Horse in opening their doors, and as a member we can continue to support them.
If you share our vision for a vibrant rural economy with community business at heart, why not join Plunkett as a member?
Pete explained to me how Plunkett helped them throughout the process and how thankful he was for our support.
We want to support you!
Plunkett UK answers enquiries every day from people across the country who are exploring the idea of setting up a community business, as well as existing businesses that require additional support.
We provide specialist business advice, training, webinars and toolkits.
Get in touch with us to for advice and support.
