Villagers in west Oxfordshire are celebrating a year of community ownership for their local pub.

On Saturday, those living in the Cotswold village of Stonesfield will be celebrating the first anniversary of buying The White Horse.

The village pub reopened in June as a community-owned venture after a four-year fight to save it from property developers.

READ MORE: Community pub in village will reopen soon 

The evening celebrations will include live music from a Stonesfield-based band which headlined the Woodstock Live Festival, and there will be a birthday cake and a cutting ceremony.

The local community gained worldwide media attention and the support of Hollywood actor Rupert Friend with a fundraising campaign that raised almost £500,000.

After years of negotiation a successful purchase was achieved in September 2023.

The actor, who grew up in the village, is the star of Homeland, Netflix’s Anatomy of a Scandal, and Disney + series Obi-Wan Kenobi.

(Image: PA) “It’s been an unbelievable year,” said Steve Callaghan, the chairman of the Stonesfield Community Pub Ltd.

“After the purchase, the community rallied again, this time to invest well over 4,000 hours of volunteering effort in refurbishing the building for a full reopening.”

“It simply wouldn’t have been possible without the vision, tenacity and tremendous support from the local and wider community.

“We can’t wait to celebrate the transformation and raise a glass with friends old and new. We hope it’s an inspiration to other communities fighting to save their pubs.”

New tenants Craig Tipper and his partner Barbara said earlier on the Back the White Horse website: "We’re thrilled to be coming to the White Horse and to Stonesfield.

(Image: The White Horse in Stonesfield) "We’ve been working together for many years since first meeting at the Boat Inn in Thrupp, and we have a very similar mindset on what we believe a great pub should be.

“Our attraction to running a community pub is exactly that – the community.

"You are the heartbeat of the White Horse and our mission is to provide reasonably priced great food, local ales and a warm and friendly welcome - whether it’s for a bite to eat, a pint with friends, a coffee and cake, or just to pop in for a chat. Our doors are open to all.

“We want to create a proper pub that’s accessible to everyone, something there seems to be very few of these days."

Both of them have a long history in the hospitality industry.

“Catering is in my blood,” said Barbara.

“My late father was an RAF Chef and later head of department at what’s now the City of Oxford College.

"I’ve been working as a chef in Oxfordshire area, most recently at the Black Prince in Woodstock, where Craig and myself took it from strength to strength to be number one on review sites for several years.”

Celebrations start at 6pm, with live music from 7.30pm and the cutting the cake ceremony will take place at 8.30pm.

Help support trusted local news 

Sign up for a digital subscription now: https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/subscribe/

As a digital subscriber you will get:      

  • Unlimited access to the Oxford Mail website   
  • Advert-light access       
  • Reader rewards       
  • Full access to our app