Open again Historic pub which suddenly closed back in business
AN historic pub branded as the last of its kind is open again and its regular customers hope it will stay that way.
The Sudeley Arms in Prestbury Road, Cheltenham, suddenly closed earlier this month.
A notice was put on its door, saying: “Due to unforeseen circumstances we are shut until further notice. Sorry.”
It followed an uncertain period after the departure of long-term landlord Adrian Collicutt late last year.
Customers said that since he left, the Enterprise Inns-owned pub had been through a particularly difficult time.
They said it was the last ‘football pub,’ in terms of being the only one relatively close to Cheltenham Town Football Club left open.
The Robins’ stadium is a few minutes walk away, in Whaddon Road, and both Cheltenham fans and supporters of visiting teams often drink at the pub on match day.
Other pubs previously popular with fans and near the stadium, such as the Cat & Fiddle, the Fox & Hounds and the Greyhound Inn, have closed. Sudeley Arms regular Richard Benson said it was the last pub for supporters before they got to the football ground and the same applied to racing fans heading to the racecourse at Prestbury Park. He said he and other customers had been sorry to see the venue having its problems recently. “We’ve been messed around for the last three months, with it opening and closing. “At least we seem to have got a ray of light now,” he said.
He explained that by that he meant temporary manager Bev Rosaman, who he said was doing a good job.
Bev said she planned to stay at the site until at least March and felt positive about the place going forward. “I definitely think it has got a future,” she said.
Robert Hutchison said he had been using the pub for 10 years and he and other regulars planned to lobby Enterprise Inns to try to secure its long-term future.