Rachel Candlin,West of Englandand

Andy Bennett,BBC Radio Somerset

Google A light stone pub building, much of which is covered in ivy. It has a pistachio coloured sign with the pub's name on it. There are hydrangeas growing in front of the pub and it is a sunny day. — The Cat Head Inn closed in May and is currently on the market

A group of villagers are trying to buy their local pub after it closed suddenly.

Chiselborough had a pub in one form or another for 400 years – until The Cat Head closed in May. Its owners said the “rising costs of running a business in today’s economy” had made it “impossible” to continue.

The Somerset pub is now on the market and and was registered as an asset of community value by the parish council, allowing the community a right to bid for the business.

The newly-formed Chiselborough Community Benefits Society (CCBS) wants to raise £500,000 to buy it, and its chair Kevin Mountain said Chiselborough was “not really a village without a pub”.

“It’s great to have a church, it’s great to have a very active village hall and we regularly book that out, but we do need a pub,” he told BBC Radio Somerset.

CCBS said a fundraising event involving a pop-up pub and website launch went ahead on Saturday, despite a prospective private buyer coming forward recently.

During the 1900s, the pub was called the New Inn

CCBS A black and white photo of the pub in the 1900s, with a sign above the door lintel saying "New Inn". There are several horses outside, one with a cart behind, and several men and boys in work clothes. — During the 1900s, the pub was called the New Inn

“It’s still early days and anything can happen, but we’re going ahead with our fundraising,” Mr Mountain said.

The 11 members of CCBS sent out a questionnaire to ascertain the level of interest in creating “a pub with a hub” offering other community facilities, such as a shop.

“We had several packed meetings with about half the 300 villagers in attendance,” Mr Mountain said.

“It has been fantastic, and the pledging has gone up, so we’re up around the £75,000-£80,000 mark in a very short space of time,” he added.

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