Pub to be new place of worship

The church hopes the pub will be a new community resource

The Old Customs House Inn at Langport has been left empty for over 12 months but now the church has bought it and wants to reopen the pub and develop it into a community resource.

Although the building has been empty since June 2008, the idea for turning into a resource for the community were discussed as far back as 2004 by the local church.

Anona Hawkins, team administrator for the Langport Area Team Ministry, said: "We're trying to achieve a community building so it helps with social cohesion but it also provides facilities within the town so that we cover the youth through to the older ones, as well as a pub.

"We're keeping a beautiful old building going."

The aim is to renovate the stable block behind the building so young people in the town can use it as a place to meet and relax, while other parts of the main building can be used as meeting rooms and a bookshop selling Christian literature.

Rooms will also be set aside for church administrators and Transition Towns, a group which promotes sustainability.

'Drink of the devil'

The Langport-cum-Huish Parochial Church Council bought the property for less than £200,000 through a loan from the Bath and Wells Diocese.

The refurbishment will be financed through grants at a estimated cost of around £100,000 to carry out the basic structural repairs.

Two pubs have already closed down in Langport, reflecting the national trend but the parochial church council is confident this pub will be a success, as the building will offer a range of services, like room hire for local community groups.

Although a Christian pub sounds like a new idea, project leader Reverend Hugh Ellis said it was commonplace for monasteries in medieval times to have their own breweries, so that people could relax and have drink.

For him the idea of a church-run pub is nothing new, and sits comfortably with Christian values.

"I think if it's controlled and if it's drunk in an orderly manner, it isn't the drink of the devil.

"Pubs have almost been the main method of drinking for donkey's years and therefore I can expect it to continue."