A team of volunteers, including the local vicar, will be stepping up to help run the Brewers Arms in West Malvern, Worcestershire after locals raised more than £400,000 to buy the pub following its closure. 

The Brewers Arms in is a small and charming stone-built pub perched high on the western slopes of the Malvern Hills with fabulous views. The 190-year-old pub closed in June, with its future uncertain.

The move prompted the local community into action and, in little more than six weeks, 437 of them raised more than £400,000 to buy the place to run themselves. Since taking ownership, a small army of unpaid volunteers have dedicated themselves to knocking it into shape.

Despite these efforts, the team has been unable to source a landlord or landlady to run it ahead of its reopening on 10 December. A team of volunteers will be filling the breach, including the parish vicar, the Reverend Rebecca Elliott, who will be doing a few shifts serving behind the bar.

Elliott, who’s church St James, is just a stone’s throw from the Brewers Arms and is the final resting place of Roget (of thesaurus fame), will also bless the beer barrels too. 

Elliott said: “Like the church and the school, the pub is a key part of our local community. Therefore, at its time of need, I’m delighted to be able to chip-in and do my bit. I’m quite looking forward to pulling a few pints, while also enjoying meeting with local people.”

Meanwhile, the hunt for the right person (or people) to run the Brewers goes on.

The team of volunteers set to run the pub includes licence-holder CAMRA pubs campaigner Mark Haslam, who said: “The Brewers Arms is a delightful pub, and we refuse to believe there aren’t the right people out there who want to become a key part of our vibrant and ‘can do’ community.”