Jane Austen pub closes three months after reopening

New landlords John and Tracey Horrocks said the building had a problem with asbestos

A pub on the site of novelist Jane Austen's former home has closed again three months after it reopened.

The Juniper Berry in Southampton, Hampshire, shut its doors on Sunday.

New landlords John and Tracey Horrocks said the building had electrical and plumbing faults as well as no hot water, which could not be fixed due to asbestos in the loft.

They said owner Admiral Taverns was considering the landmark pub's future.

The mock Tudor pub is on the approximate site of Jane Austen's former home

Mr Horrocks said the asbestos was found when the firm installed a new boiler for the pub's opening in September.

He said Admiral Taverns was not prepared to fund the removal of the dangerous material.

Mrs Horrocks said: "The roof was leaking in the living quarters.

"The water was tripping the electrics. We've had the electrician out every week since we've been here.

"No heating, no hot water. It was minus two the other week. Awful living conditions."

The mock Tudor pub, which previously closed in January, is remembered on social media as a former thriving nightspot.

A plaque on an external wall records that Jane Austen lived on the approximate site of the pub from 1807 to 1809.

Her first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, appeared in 1811 after she moved to Chawton in Hampshire.