Raising a glass to one-night church pub special (From The Oxford Times)
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Raising a glass to one-night church pub special
9:30am Tuesday 3rd July 2012 in Witney
Villagers at Ascott-Under-Wychwood whose pub closed two years ago will be enjoying a tipple at the Church of the Holy Trinity as the church hosts a pub for one night. Organiser Debra Cull and The Rev Andrew Thayer join locals in the church
VILLAGERS who don’t have their own pub have turned to the church for inspiration.
Holy Trinity Church in Ascott-under-Wychwood is to become the Trinity Arms on Friday.
And thanks to a deal with a microbrewery based at the nearby Fox at Leafield there will even be ales named ‘Confession’ and ‘Absolution’ on tap.
The village lost its pub, The Swan, two years ago and the idea rose from a desire to resurrect a community meeting place.
Friday’s event is currently just a one-off, but it could become a regular occurrence if the night proves a success.
The Rev Mark Abrey, the rector of Chase Benefice covering five churches in the area, said: “The pub in Ascott closed two years ago and at a church meeting people said ‘wouldn’t it be great to have the pub over here one night? It’s providing an opportunity for the community to come together and socialise.
“I think it’s going to be really popular.”
Organiser Debra Cull: “Sadly all around the country churches aren’t being used as much as they could be so why not transform it for one night?”
The pub night runs from 6.30pm until 10.30pm.
