Shrewsbury pub's new landlady reconnecting with community and raising thousands for charity

The new landlady of a Shrewsbury pub has thanked the community for an "absolutely fantastic” reception since reopening to the public in June.

Lorraine Pugh and her partner took over the freehold Seven Stars at Old Coleham, Belle Vue, in May and reopened to the public on June 12.

Since taking over the running of the Old Coleham establishment, Lorraine and co have been hard at work to turn the operation into a successful, much-loved business again.

As part of this plan, Lorraine and her team have helped raise more than a thousand pounds, she estimates, for various causes via special charity nights hosted at the pub.

On August 23, the Seven Stars hosted a charity night for the 4Louis charity, which helps families and loved ones deal with child loss.

Lorraine chose to support this charity due to her own experience of child loss. She lost her daughter at only six weeks old nearly 30 years ago.

“Every family unfortunately does suffer some sort of child loss, don’t they?” said Lorraine, “be it through miscarriage or a little bit older.

“So, yeah, it is quite close to our heart.”

Then, on August 29, the Seven Stars hosted another charity night in aid of Severn Hospice.

The pub raised more than £400 for the 4Louise charity and Lorraine estimates that the funds raised for Severn Hospice are well over £1,000.

Asked if the pub will host more charity nights in the future, Lorraine said: “Yes, we are just trying to sort out dates now, because we do not want to do them too close together.”

The pub, Lorraine stated, is hoping to host another charity night for a yet undecided cause on Valentine’s Day 2027.

Talking about what it has been like since they took over at the pub in May, Lorraine said it has been “absolutely fantastic”.

She added: “We hold live music every weekend. We do open mic nights once a month. We have got the pool teams back in. We have three darts teams and two golf societies that come in and support us as well.

“So for a pub that has been shut for so long on and off and had such a bad reputation, in the short period of the time that we have been there, it is very successful.”

Asked about what her hopes are for the future of the business, Lorraine stated: “It is just to carry on making it successful and doing whatever we can to help the community.”

She added: “It is just about getting the community to love the pub again.”