AS one renowned Headington pub ushers in its 20th year of serving pints to the community, the co-landlord of the family enterprise says while many traditional pubs have been forced to close he is looking to a prosperous future.

Chris Meeson, a Headington Quarry resident throughout his life, took on the reins at the Masons Arms along with his two brothers two decades ago, and has seen the popular boozer win a number of accolades helping it to become a community staple ever since.

Speaking as the pub in Quarry School Place gears up to hold a special 20th birthday celebration at the end of the year, the 50-year old said that traditional pubs like his had been most successful when they embraced change.

But he also warned that many had been forced to close their doors.

He said: “In Headington Quarry we have had so many great pubs but it has really suffered over the years and we have lost so many.

“But some pubs, they can survive if they improve and if they look forward by embracing the change.

“People appreciate what we try and do here at the Mason’s Arms, trying to do something different and hold different events to get people to come.”

The pub was recently crowned pub of the year for the fifth time in a decade after winning the 2016 Oxford City Pub of the Year title from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA)'s Oxford branch.

Judges hailed the pub as having a good selection of real ales and it was also praised for its ambience, its cleanliness and for its community spirit.

Mr Meeson has been in the pub trade for the past three decades, pulling his first pint as a barman at the White Hart, Headington.

He said that over the decades he has seen 'a huge amount' of change in the pub industry, driven mostly by a change in people’s habits.

He said: “I think there has been a lot of change in the pub industry over the years. "There are now more eating houses and European-style food places than there were before.

“Pubs have had to change, and there is a lot more home entertainment now.

"Fewer people are going to pubs and its cheaper in a supermarket to buy beer.

“We have tried to keep it a little bit different and offered lots of events and things to come along to take part in.

"It’s a real community pub we are trying to do.

“In the last thirty years I have seen more and more people preferring to spend time at home.

“Lots of pubs have disappeared across the area. Cowley Road is a good example of how places have changed, they are all offering something different now.

“I think you have got to give people a good reason to come visit us, which we try to do.”

One of the most significant changes for pubs came 10 years ago when the country became ‘smoke free.’

On April 1, 2007, all pubs all across England saw the smoke-filled haze vanish and the nicotine stained carpets pulled out, with many establishments struggling to adapt.

The ban, Mr Meeson admitted, hit the Mason’s Arms 'quite dramatically' ,with a dip in custom.

But 10 years on he feels like the ban has been a great thing for the industry.

He said: “We lost a few customers who wanted to have their cigarettes in the pub.

"A decade later I think it has been a great thing.

"There's a much better atmosphere. Everyone has had to adapt.

"We have had to create a new area for the smokers and, especially with vaping coming in, now I have seen a lot of people actually giving up.

"That's probably off the back of the ban.

"I have also given up, and I probably would not have done if there was still smoking in pubs.

"Times have changed. When I think back to the smoky atmosphere now that we used to work in, it is much better now."

The pub holds events all year round and the next big one will be the 16th annual beer festival which will see a wide range of ales stocked for revellers on September 8.

Staff plan to hold a birthday celebration to mark 20 years of serving the community with a date to be confirmed at the end of the year.