Villagers unite to rescue last remaining pub

The Red Lion - the heart of the community

Residents from Finmere, Little Tingewick and Tingewick are coming together to rescue The Red Lion in Little Tingewick, the last remaining pub serving the three communities.

Launching an ambitious fundraising campaign, a group of residents have formed the Red Lion Community Group Limited, setting out to bring locals together in a bid to raise over £400K to buy the once thriving pub from Fuller’s Brewery and satisfy locals’ thirst for community.

“We’re really excited to be offering people the opportunity to be part of this campaign for as little as £250. Anyone over 18 can buy shares in the Red Lion and invest in its future, restoring it to be the beating heart of our community,” said Andy Plumbly of RLCG.

While the Red Lion will be a community-owned freehouse, the RLCG plan to appoint a professional tenant to run the business. And the backing of the community will provide a loyal customer base and a stronger chance of success at a time when pubs up and down the country are closing.

According to Alan Jones (85), who has lived in Finmere all his life, “I’ve been going to the Red Lion since I was 17. It’s always been somewhere I could go on a week night, enjoy a drink and a chat with people, maybe play darts or dominoes and I’d go home feeling better. You do feel better when you’ve had a good chat! Since it closed I’ve really missed that.”

Like many village pubs, The Red Lion started out as a small cottage in the early 19th century and has been a significant and much-loved pub for generations, surviving a near catastrophic fire in 2004 and providing a meeting place for Land Army girls and airmen from RAF Finmere, farm workers and travellers, as well as more recently members of the hugely successful Finmere Cricket Club.

Chairman of Finmere CC and founding member of the RLCG, Michael Geelan said: “In the days before our cricket pavilion was constructed, the pub was where the players met up – before and after matches. In recent times, many significant victories and numerous awards nights were celebrated there. It would be wonderful to be able to re-establish that historic connection by restoring the Red Lion to its former glory.”

The Business Plan & Share Prospectus and contact details to find out more are available at www.redlionlittletingewick.co.uk