'Welcoming' Shropshire pub nearly lost to the community is given new life by its owners

There are plenty of pubs across the country which were once vibrant places full of laughter, chatter and people having a good time, but which have gone by the wayside after closure.

When a closed pub is given new life and a new purpose, it brings back that central hub to small communities such as Edgmond, near Newport, where a pub once lost is now a popular and welcoming venue.

The Edgmond Lion is a pleasant and welcoming family-run village local which was taken over by Becky Roberts and Ed Llewellyn in April 2023 when, as Ms Robert puts it, they were looking for somewhere to be outside their own home.

She said: “We’ve always been in the pub trade and we’d moved into a house in the village and found that we were getting bored, because we would put the kids to bed and we don’t really like watching TV and we can’t go out, so it was just a bit boring.

“We’d spent six months in the house and were just looking for somewhere to be and wanted to get back into the pub trade and ended up just stumbling across this pub.

“We looked on the Sydney Phillips website and the pictures didn’t do it justice, so we came for a drive round and saw that it needed some work and TLC, because of being closed for four years, but felt like the quite traditional village pubs we’ve been used to being in and running.”

Ms Roberts said that when they reopened the pub, they tried to keep it with the feeling of the village and not make any big changes, although she also said there wasn’t a path to follow as it had been closed for years.

The pub is a former coaching inn, with remnants of that time still visible in the restaurant area through arches in the brickwork and Ms Roberts said the locals liked seeing that aspect of the pub when they came to visit it.

The Edgmond Lion is a freehold and, as with a lot of pubs in the area, has a strong relationship with Wye Valley Brewery, with Ms Roberts saying their products were among the most popular among drinkers.

She said: “We sell a lot of Wye Valley Brewery, with Butty Bach and HPA being regulars on the hand pulls, while we also have two that we use for guest ales from different breweries.

“We’ve sold beers from the likes of Salopian, Ludlow, All Nations, Hobsons and Three Tuns and we just keep swapping them around to keep it fresh.

“We also have quite a range of other beers, such as having three lagers, with Carling as the basic, Madri as the middle range and Staropramen as the premium, so we try to cater for all needs really.”

The drink selection at the Edgmond Lion also appeals to cider drinkers, with Aspalls on as the premium, Cold River as a middle range and two fruity ciders alongside, as well as a large spirit selection.

The pub is also a place to enjoy a good bite to eat, with a food menu running from Thursday to Sunday with an emphasis on traditional home made food, including pies, lasagnes and other pub food like burgers and scampi, as well as a Sunday lunch which Ms Roberts said drew people in from across the area to try.

Ms Roberts said the pub was somewhere that welcomed people in, whether local or visiting for the first time, and which had become her life, particularly after some recent good news.

She said: “It’s just so nice to be settled and we’ve been accepted into the village very well, with our children in the school up the road.

“We love this pub and how we’ve given it new life and we now own it, having taken ownership a few weeks ago, so it’s not just a free house, it’s our house.”