Wiltshire businessman snaps up The Angel Inn at Heytesbury

Paul Gardner, of the Chaffinch Pub Company, already owns The George & Dragon at Erlestoke and The Bath Arms at Crockerton near Shearwater Lake.

Now he’s snapped up The Angel Inn at Heytesbury for £475,000 and has already begun work on a two-month refurbishment of the traditional country pub’s interior.

Chaffinch Pub Company has snapped up The Angel Inn at Heytesbury for £475,000. Trevor Porter 77266-2 (Image: Trevor Porter)

Mr Gardner said: “We completed the purchase on Monday and I’m absolutely delighted. It lends itself to go with our other pubs.

“The previous owner bought it during the Covid pandemic in 2019 and then closed it and applied for planning permission to convert it into housing.

“Having the two pubs makes a lot of sense financially because of the synergies.

“We have already started work on stripping out and upgrading the kitchen and the cellar and hope to open it in the next two months."

The Angel Inn at Heytesbury has been bought by Chaffinch Pub Company for £475,000. Trevor Porter 77266-3 (Image: Trevor Porter)

The historic pub started life as a 17th century coaching inn on the main road between Bath and Salisbury.

Mr Gardner says the pub will have a minimalist look when it is finished, with some of its menu prepared at The Bath Arms before being transported to The Angel Inn.

“We have a team of eight chefs at The Bath Arms, it’s quite a big operation, and so a lot of the food for The Angel will be produced at The Bath Arms.

“All our meals will be cooked from scratch, using fresh produce, to serve that quality of food.

“We will chalk up the menu each day on a blackboard, and the bar top will be covered in copper like the one at The Bath Arms.

“Everything we do has to be local and the best that we can get, so we will only be selling beers and ciders from Wiltshire, Somerset, Bath and Bristol.”

 Mr Gardner runs two businesses in Westbury, Absolute Solvents Ltd and Waste Matters Ltd, as well as the Springcombe Park Stud at Bruton in Somerset, where he breeds racehorses.

The Bath Arms near Shearwater Lake at Crockerton. (Image: The Bath Arms)

Mr Gardner bought The Bath Arms for £400,000 in 2020 and has spent more than £600,000 restoring it to its former glory. The pub has just celebrated its first full year after reopening in July 2023.

He is hoping to convert The George & Dragon at Erlstoke into residential accommodation once planning consent is obtained.

The George & Dragon at Erlestoke. (Image: Trevor Porter)