REGULARS at the Church House Inn can raise a glass to success after their local - which has its own chaplain - was named best community pub in the country.

The 19th century village pub, in Bollington, Cheshire, was threatened with closure 18 months ago when the previous landlord ended his lease.

But locals were determined not to lose the pub. Seven drinkers were so upset about the prospect of their local closing that they clubbed together and raised tens of thousands of pounds to buy the 10-year lease. An appeal fund was set up which raised enough to buy the inn and a consortium of 12 villagers came together to run it.

When the village church closed, they also arranged for religious services to be conducted in the pub by local chaplain the Rev John Buckley.

The work in transforming the fortunes of the Church House Inn has now been recognised with the title best community pub in Britain at a ceremony regarded as the Oscars of the licensed trade.

It was also voted best overall pub in the north west and top community pub in the region.

Judges highlighted the links with the local church and the fact the pub had its own chaplain. They also praised the strong links the pub has built with local people and the fact food is sourced from local suppliers. The team behind the Church House Inn put their success down to nothing more than good teamwork.

Steve Murphy, a consortium member, said: "When we saw the competition we were up against for the awards, we thought we had no chance.

"There are over 60,000 pubs in the country so to be voted the best community pub is some accolade.

"When we took over we were on course to make a whacking big loss and this has just left us gobsmacked.

"We got into this because we had a lot of affection for the place and wanted to restore it.

"We wanted to make it a place for the community, so when the church across the road closed, we decided to make it a place where people could worship and hold regular services.

"We want the pub to be for the community. The judges recognised that."

Mr Buckley said: "I am delighted to be involved in the pub's community work. It's led to some interesting conversations - even if some customers may be surprised to see me here."

brian.lashley@men-news.co.uk

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