The King of Wessex has reopened after being saved by a group of locals who couldn't bear to see it shut - and inside it has been utterly transformed.
The popular pub on Winchester Road closed in November but was rescued by a group of six regulars who have been going to the Wessex for the last 35 years.
The popular watering hole reopened on December 23 after undergoing a dramatic makeover in just five days.
The internal furniture has been refreshed while the entire interior has been repainted. The group has also installed a trendy log burner - handy for keeping punters warm.
Posting photographs of the changes to social media, a pub spokesman wrote: "Don't judge a book by its cover, it's what's inside that counts."
The transformation was revealed to locals when the pub reopened its doors on December 23.
According to staff, the pub has been busy over the last few weeks with former regulars and past punters returning after years away as well as an influx of new faces and customers.
And the transformation will continue into the New Year with plans to upgrade and repaint the outside of the pub.
For more about this, pick up a copy of the Gazette on Thursday.
The previous landlord Kelley Bowers made the difficult decision to shut the pub on November 17 after facing a 'lack of support' from the brewery Heineken.
The 41-year-old mother-of-three, who ran the pub alongside running The New Inn with her husband Carl, blamed Heineken for failing to support her during difficult times.
Speaking previously, she said: “It’s the same old story with every pub closing. Half of it is because I have had enough of the industry and want a bit of a normal life now and another part is it’s so hard with high rents. The brewery doesn’t give us any help.”
Kelley also said the exterior of the King of Wessex, in King’s Furlong, is in desperate need of an upgrade, but a condition in her contract means the cost of any work is her responsibility.
“There was no movement on the lease even though the industry has changed. We have to relinquish our lease for them to put the money in,” she said, adding: “We have a good relationship with them but it goes back to red tape and what we have signed being set in stone. We are responsible for absolutely everything internally and externally. The price of a pint has gone up lots and we take the flak for that.”
Before
Inside now
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