New start for Beedon pub

Mark Jenkins and Lorraine Cunnington plan to make Langley Hall Inn the heart of the community once more

IT has had more name changes than pint-sized pop sensation Prince but a Beedon pub with a familiar ring is now back and open for service.

Langley Hall Inn, in World's End, has been taken over by Mark Jenkins and Lorraine Cunnington who are embarking on their first venture as pub owners.

The pub has been a long-standing part of the community with links to the Langley Hall estate which dates back hundreds of years, but closed in February following a period of uncertainty and years of identity crisises.

In 1986, the Newbury Weekly News ran a competition to re-name The Langley Hall pub, and it was given the new moniker The Countryman.

A further identity change followed not long after as it became the Blue Parrot restuarant and cocktail wine bar, complete with large blue bird in a cage near the bar, but in 1993 the Newbury Weekly News again hosted a competition for the community to name the pub, and Langley Hall Inn won out as new owners moved in, and the name has remained ever since.

Mr Jenkins has a background in catering and owned his own courier business, he said he is passionate about local produce and will encourage use of local suppliers the new menu.

Miss Cunnington was a business studies teacher at an Oxfordshire school for the last 11 years before taking the leap.

The pair have said they intend to make Langley Hall Inn the heart of the Beedon community once more.

For more information visit www.langley-hall-inn.co.uk or telephone (01635) 248332.