Villagers raise a glass to return of their own pub
RESIDENTS of a village on the border between Northumberland and Cumbria are celebrating after getting the keys to their “beloved” pub.
The Samson Inn, in Gilsland, close to Hadrian’s Wall, closed in October 2022 after its owners decided to call it a day. In response, a group of residents set up the Gilsland Community Benefit Society in the hope of reopening the pub as a community-run venture.
After months of campaigning and raising more than £140,000 in share pledges, The Samson was one of four successful North East projects which applied for the Government’s Community Ownership Fund and was awarded £215,839.
The community group got the keys four months later and are ready to start work on the pub’s restoration.
Cathy Mousette, a member of the Gilsland Community Benefit Society, was one of the first through the doors for the next chapter of the Samson Inn.
She told The Journal: “We were drinking warm prosecco out of mucky glasses but we don’t care because we’ve got the keys and we’ll get our pub back!”
The next steps include a big clean and tidy up, and external building works, which are set to begin very soon.
The society also hope to utilise the “rich mix of skills” within the community to restore the pub.
A search is also underway for a tenant to run the Samson Inn and become part of the Gilsland Community. Though there is no opening date, the society say that the Samson “will be open as soon as we possibly can”.
Jane McDaid, also of the Gilsland Community Benefit Society, said: “There have been ups and downs, hurdles and challenges - but if it was easy, the “high” of completing the purchase wouldn’t be so exciting!
“Thank you to each and every one of you. Without you, this could not have happened. But with you, the community of Gilsland now has a forever pub.”