Team heartbroken as Cotford pub shuts its doors

“It is devastating, we worked so hard but it has beaten us.”

Those were the words of pub landlord Steve Elliott who, together with his wife Tracey and a dedicated team, ran The Chapel in Cotford St Luke until it closed on Sunday July 19.

But ‘Team Chapel’ as they call themselves, were still in evidence last Saturday (July 25), serving drinks at the Cotford St Luke fete, as the couple have lived in the village for 18 years and all 30 staff also live locally.

“We fought really hard, reached out for support in January from our MP and others to maintain this as a village hub, keep the team employed, and protect this building, but it never came to fruition,” said Steve.

“All three of these things are now hugely at risk, and we and the team are gutted we had to close.”

The final weekend saw the pub, a Grade 2 listed building, have a special pizza menu, a DJ in the garden and screen the World Cup final.

“We went out with a bang, we had really good support and people were genuinely sad to see the pub go,” said Steve.

He and Tracey took it over three and a half years ago, determined to turn it into a more traditional pub after seeing it decline – and it worked.

“We had the full support of the village, a great reputation and service, and we turned it back into the village hub,” said Steve.

But in the end a number of factors combined to work against its success, he said. Nationwide, the world changed post-Covid and people did not go out as much. Unfair VAT costs for pubs mean they cannot compete against supermarkets which sell drink at a fraction of the cost, and the cost of living crisis has added to the problem.

“Although we have had amazing support, people have had to reduce how much they go out. On top of that there is the cost of running a huge building with crippling energy costs, increases in the living wage, rates – the list goes on.”

Steve, who formerly ran a national logistics company, and Tracey, who used to work at Cotford school, put out a heartfelt message on Facebook to mark the pub’s closure: “The Chapel became much more than a pub. It was a place where friendships were made, weddings, birthdays, celebrations of life, christenings and baby showers were celebrated, live music filled the building, and memories were created.

“To our incredible Team Chapel – thank you. Your hard work, loyalty, passion and friendship have meant everything…

“To everyone who supported us - thank you. Your support and kindness will never be forgotten.

“It is heartbreaking this beautiful building will once again stand empty, but we leave knowing we gave it everything we had.”

Hundreds of messages of thanks and sadness over the pub’s closure, have poured in on social media.

The Chapel was built in 1897 for Tone Vale Hospital, a former mental asylum.