Community spirit revives a historic Welsh pub
Of the 45,000 UK pubs still operating, 378 – at least one a day – are expected to close by the end of this year
Fast forward to 2025 and laughter rings out of the newly reopened watering hole after locals clubbed together to save it. The pub, which first opened in the 1830s, is one of tens of thousands across the UK forced to call last orders over recent years.
Once the heart of the village, the Radnor Arms – which had become uneconomic due to rising costs – was shut by the landlord in 2016 and quickly fell into ruin.
For locals in the picturesque south Wales village of New Radnor, population 438, the demise of their only remaining hostelry was devastating. Over the years, there were around six or more pubs or ale houses in the village. By 2012, all except the Radnor Arms had shut down.
“It was the heart of the village,” said David Pyle, a 57-year-old retired psychiatrist who has lived next door to the pub for the past 18 years.
“Sometimes you could hear a bit of hubbub, sometimes you’d hear a roar go up when Wales scored, or a male voice choir singing in the back bar,” he said. “It was just lovely. And then it closed.”