Owner of The Jolly Farmer pub in Moulton Chapel urges villagers to ‘use it or lose it’

A frustrated publican says nearby residents need to chose to ‘use or lose’ their last remaining village pub.

Steve Thorne, owner of the Jolly Farmer in Moulton Chapel, insists the ‘village pub needs to be cherished’ and has warned that it will end up in crisis unless it is used regularly.

Moulton Chapel once had three pubs but now The Jolly Farmer, in Roman Road, is the last one serving customers — despite an increase in housing in recent years.

Mr Thorne said: “We have 150 people that use the Jolly week in and out.

“There are thousands of people in Moulton Chapel, Weston Hills and Cowbit so where do they go?

“One thing that has been really annoying me is that 90% of people in the village don't use the facilities.”

Despite putting on free music events and putting the prices up only once in the last three years, Mr Thorne feels ‘that is not enough’.

He said: “I suppose I got a bee in my bonnet as locals will drive past a village pub and go into Wetherspoons and their prices are not that dissimilar.

“We do a three course dinner for £12.

“But they would rather go somewhere impersonal with factory food.”

Mr Thorne, who has owned the Jolly Farmer for eight years, estimates he has seen 25 pubs close in 25 years - including The Plough and The Wheatsheaf in Moulton Chapel.

He is ‘dumbfounded’ that 9,000 pubs are at risk of closure nationally - and is in support of the Save Britain’s Pubs campaign which recently got the backing of the Bertie Arms in Uffington.

Mr Thorne said: “There used to be three pubs in the village, one is now a house and one stands empty.

“There is something wrong somewhere.”

Last orders rang at 9pm during a recent Saturday night.

Mr Thorne said: “There was not a soul to be seen.

“If people use the pub once a month for a meal or a pint a week, we will thrive.

“If I had four weeks on the trot like that, the pub would have to shut down.”

Although he sees trends at Christmas when the pub is busy and in the summer less so, Mr Thorne is worried about the decline of the high street and village pubs.

He said: “The public are walking into a barren landscape.

“Shops are shutting down and what frustrates me is that they just sit and accept it.

“At one point we had three pubs and a garage - now we are down to a butcher's shop that has closed three times.”

Mr Thorne said: “The only way we can get something back is by people supporting us.

“We can’t rely on the government, they don’t care about us.”

The pandemic hit the hospitality industry hard along with an increase in National Insurance payments and the minimum wage.

Mr Thorne added:” The industry as a whole is hard enough.

“It is hard to earn a living in this industry.

“My regulars get unsettled and ask if we are closing down.”

*The Jolly Farmer is hosting a music day on Saturday, June 21. Acts kick off at 3pm with the Get Back Vinyl DJs, Flip and Steve Reggae Duo and The Sound Injectors all on the bill throughout the day.

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