Plough goes back under hammer
A VACANT Thatcham pub will go to auction once again.
The Plough is to be auctioned by Network Auctions on Thursday, December 10, with a guide price of £350,000.
The detached former public house offers 1,926 sq ft in a 0.25 acre site with side garden, rear car park and a self-contained flat on the first floor.
The sale description says that the Grade-II listed building has development potential for “existing or alternative commercial use, residential conversion and development of the site subject to planning”.
The Plough, on the junction of the A4 and Stoney Lane, was last auctioned in February with a guide price of £410,000, but it failed to find a buyer.
The 17th-century pub, with 19th-century additions, was closed in 2017 by Ei Group, formally Enterprise Inns, which said that The Plough did not have a long-term future within its business.
The pub sold at auction for
£345,000 in November 2017, but the building has remained empty and no plans have been submitted for it.
The pub freehold and its 0.25 acres were up for sale.
The ground floor comprises two defined trading areas with central servery, customer toilets, kitchen and cellar.
The first floor includes a living room, three bedrooms and bathroom.
A trade garden with space for 30 covers and a car park is also included.
Research conducted by Thatcham historian Dr Nick Young places the earliest confirmed record for the building as a pub use back to Edward Farrow in 1795.
It stayed with the Farrow family until c1860.
In November 1888 the body of an infant was discovered in the roof.
In 1894, Thatcham Football Club played its first recorded match, using the nearby Plough Inn as its base.
For viewings contact Elliott Network Auctions on 01923 240420.
The catalogue can be viewed at https://www.networkauctions. co.uk/network-auctions-catalogues/