Pictured: The Old Horn Inn, Spennithorne, saved by the Old Horn Community Pub Society
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has announced the winners and runners-up of its Pub Saving Award 2024 and the first ever Heritage Award
CAMRA has named the Old Horn Community Pub Society, who saved the Old Horn Inn in Spennithorne, North Yorkshire, as the winner of the consumer group’s Pub Saving Award 2024. Runner-up was the Roxwell Chequers Community Benefit Society, who rescued the Chequers Inn in Roxwell, Essex.
CAMRA also revealed the Drewe Arms in Drewsteignton, Devon, as the winner of the inaugural Heritage Award, and the Kings Head in Bristol as the Heritage Award runner-up.
The Pub Saving Award recognises people that have come together to save a pub that would have otherwise been demolished or converted to another use. It aims to secure publicity for pub-saving campaigns to encourage others to save their local.
The Old Horn Inn, a pub over 200 years old, closed suddenly in 2022 with planning application submitted to convert it into housing. Local villagers banded together to protect the pub from this fate, raising £180,000 to bring it into community ownership and undertaking a major volunteer led refurbishment. The pub successfully reopened to the public on 21 May 2024.
Runner-up in the Pub Saving Award 2024 was the Roxwell Chequers Community Benefit Society who were successful in saving the Chequers Inn in Roxwell, Essex, which had been closed since January 2020 and under threat of being converted to housing. The campaign drew supporters from as far as Australia and the USA.
The inaugural Heritage Award is open to all pubs on CAMRA’s National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors. It recognises and celebrates the achievements of a heritage pub that has been revitalised in some way.
CAMRA’s very first Heritage Award winner is one of Devon’s oldest pubs, the Drewe Arms in Drewsteignton. When the Grade II* listed pub closed in 2022, it was feared that the Drewe Arms would be lost forever. The Drewsteignton Community Society formed and village locals came together to reopen its doors once again to the community on 16 March 2024.
The runner-up in the Heritage Award was Kings Head in Bristol, which was restored by Good Chemistry Brewery. Shut since the Covid pandemic, the mid-17th century building has been restored to its former glory. The Grade II listed pub boasts some of the oldest bar fittings in the whole of the UK.
Pub Saving Award Coordinator Paul Ainsworth said:
“When a pub closes, it is incredibly hard to open the doors again, with many losing the battle to conversion or demolition. That is why these awards are so important, the hard work and dedication shown by these campaigns to save local pubs deserve recognition. They are all inspirational stories, that will hopefully encourage more pub saving campaigns, so future generations can enjoy the wonderful sense of community that only a pub can provide.
“2024 marked the one-year anniversary of the wanton destruction of the Crooked House pub in Himley, serving as a grim reminder that pubs in the wrong hands can sadly disappear. January is a tough time for pubs, so please make sure to support your local and seek out beautiful heritage pubs across the UK.”
The pubs will be presented with the award at forthcoming events organised by the respective local CAMRA branches in early 2025.
Ends
Notes to editors
For more information about the pubs and their individual local pub saving campaigns, please contact press@camra.org.uk for a region-specific release.
For photos, contact press@camra.org.uk
CAMRA has detailed guides and resources for anybody looking to save their local here: camra.org.uk/save-your-local-pub
More information about the Pub Saving Award can be found here: camra.org.uk/awards/pub-saving?selected_year=2024
Find out more about the Old Horn here: oldhorncommunity.org
More information about the Chequers Inn here: savethechequersroxwell.co.uk
More information about the Heritage Award can be found here: camra.org.uk/awards/heritage?selected_year=2024
Find out more about the Drewe Arms here: drewearms.org
More information about the Kings Arms here: goodchemistrybrewing.co.uk/pages/kings-head
Find out more about historic pub interiors and CAMRA’s Pub Heritage Group here: camra.org.uk/heritage-pubs
