Community members volunteer skills to restore pub

The Ickleton Lion opened as a pub in 1728 and was a popular haunt for US airmen in World War Two

Carpenters, gardeners, electricians, roofers and DIY experts have volunteered to help restore a 297-year-old pub which was bought by a community.

The last remaining pub in Ickleton, a village between Cambridge and Saffron Walden, Essex, was put up for sale by Greene King in 2023.

A community benefit society raised £440,000 to buy the venue and received the keys just before Christmas.

Ickleton Lionhearted group, the pub's new owners, said the premises license to sell alcohol had been approved and it hoped the venue would be open by the summer.

"We have a vision in our minds of how good it is going to look," says chair of the community group, Rachel Radford

Work is under way to repair and refurbish the pub, which was a popular haunt for US airmen in World War Two.

Some of the funds left over from the purchase of the pub, as well as a bank loan, have been put towards to pay for the supplies needed for the restoration.

Rachel Radford, the chair of the community group, said: "We know what we are aiming for, we have a vision in our minds of how good it is going to look and slowly over the next few weeks and months we can get there.

She added: "Together we have got a reasonable budget sitting there but it is a case of having to balance out what things cost with the amount of money we have.

"It is very, very tight but the help of volunteers is going to make a huge difference."

Some traders have volunteered services and other have offered discounted prices, says the Ickleton Lionhearted group

The group said it anticipated some delays as plans needed listed building consent, but it "[was] not planning anything terribly controversial".

It planned to hold an annual members meeting in the first half of the year, for all 415 shareholders to have a say in the running on the pub.

Ms Radford said: "I'm sure people will make great memories. It will be a real sort of hub at the centre of the village again."