Two formerly thriving pubs in Wellington have closed, the latest in a long line of hostelries in Shropshire to shut their doors in recent months.
The Bacchus, in Church Street, and the Smithfield, in Bridge Road, are locked, with curtains drawn and their future uncertain.
It comes at a time when the licensing trade is in dire straits, with many pub landlords leaving the industry.
The Bacchus occupies a prime site opposite the parish church and boarded-up Charlton Arms hotel, which could become flats.
The Bacchus was an old-fashioned pub with beer garden although it also offered pub fare like pizzas and steak and chips.
It is owned by the Marston Pub Company which is advertising it to let.
The Smithfield, opposite Morrison’s supermarket, is owned by Punch Taverns and was relaunched in May as a cafe bar offering breakfasts, takeaways and £5 lunches for pensioners.
Julie Williams, who ran the pub for 10 months until April, said today: “The cafe bar venture under the new licensees lasted just 12 weeks. It’s a great shame because the Smithfield was formerly a coaching inn dating back, I think, to the 1800s.”
Councillor Roger Aveley, a Wellington borough and town councillor, said: “It’s terrible to see yet more pubs closed in our town. But sadly landlords are not able to make a living any more.”
Eddie Main, last secretary of the recently disbanded Telford Licensed Victuallers’ Association, has warned the traditional pub will soon be a thing of the past, blaming the smoking ban, cheap supermarket drinks and high rents for the rapid decline.
No-one from the Marston Pub Company or Punch Taverns was available to comment.
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