Bid to save Cumbrian village pub needs you

A Cumbrian community is aiming to save its village pub – and needs your help.

The Black Lion in Ireby has been a community hub for hundreds of years – but the threat of its closure prompted villagers to act and stop it being turned into homes or a holiday let.

It has been registered as an asset of community value – which means it can be bought by the community and the campaign to do so is being spearheaded by the group the Black Lion Community Group Limited.

Villagers want the Black Lion to be an inclusive community-owned pub, using local suppliers and providing employment and training to the surrounding community.

It wants the Black Lion to become a commercially viable, not-for-profit cafe/pub that is the hub of the village of Ireby and the surrounding communities.

Its price is £395,000 and the group has launched a share offer to raise the funds required to buy and operate the Black Lion as a community-owned pub and social hub for the village.

The group wants to raise a total of £448,000 so it can employ a tenant and develop its offering.

It has so far raised over £77,000.

How can I help save the Black Lion?

To help the Black Lion become the heart of the community, shares are on offer.

Each share is £1 and the minimum shareholding is 50 (£50).

The maximum shareholding 45,000 (£45,000 per shareholder subject to approval)

The primary objective of the company is to purchase The Black Lion and place a tenant to run the pub and develop as a social hub and asset for for the community, working with the management committee.

Voting rights

Anyone who invests the minimum of £50, which will be the price of 50 shares, will have a vote and therefore a say in the affairs of the business at general meetings.

A spokesman said: “Of course, we welcome bigger share holdings, the maximum share purchase will be £45,000 but, the business will operate strictly on a one member, one vote basis, regardless of how many shares you hold.”

Important information about investing

Community shares are fully at risk and you could lose some or all of the money. You have no right to compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, nor any right of complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

As a Community 4 Benefit Society, the Black Lion Community Group is exempt from the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and associated Financial Promotions Order 2005.

Do not invest any money you can’t afford to lose or that you need immediate access to.

Why should I help save the Black Lion?

The group said: “The closure of the pub in 2023 was a wake up call for those living in the area, coming swiftly after the permanent closure of the Snooty Fox in a neighbouring village.

“The reality of living in a rural area without a pub and all the benefits that brings resulted in the call to arms to save the pub.

“In response to the depth of feeling, the current owner agreed to reopen the pub to provide the time the Black Lion Community Group Limited has needed to set up and get to the point of raising funds for its purchase.

“We are grateful to the current owner and his team for helping in this way. The Black Lion Community Group Limited has completed the groundwork and are now at the point we need to raise funds.

“The time to commit is now. With support from the Government’s Community Ownership Fund and the Plunkett Foundation, the group has put in place all the building blocks to protect the future of the pub.

“We now need the community to help us realise our aims: a viable community business offering locally sourced produce, supporting other organisations and providing an open warm and friendly place to meet for all who visit us.

“It is the only open retail business in Ireby and there is little in the surrounding villages – Ireby would be poorer without it but there are so many more reasons to invest.”

History of Ireby and the Black Lion

The Black Lion is a traditional village pub with two self-contained holiday lets.

To the north, it overlooks Scotland across the Solway Firth and to the south, it overlooks Skiddaw and the northern fells. It runs directly on to the most northern of the Wainwright fells, Binsey.

Ireby is 12 miles north of Keswick, seven miles from Bassenthwaite Lake and 23 miles west of Penrith. Its location makes it an attractive venue for walkers, cyclists
and those who wish to experience the less crowded delights of the northern fells.

Although now seen as a village, Ireby is the oldest market town in Cumbria, famed for its fair and market and which were first licensed in 1236 and 1275.

Although it never commenced trading, the Ireby Bank was nearly launched in 1810.

Notable literary visitors over the years have included Charles Dickens, John Keats, Hugh Walpole and more recently Melvyn Bragg.

Lord Bragg said: “I had scores of terrific nights drinking in the Black Lion with friends. It was the perfect pub for many years.

“Truly local, classless, and always welcoming.”

In 1858 there were four public houses in the village and one in each of the neighbouring villages. Now only the Black Lion remains.

The pub was placed on the market with a change of use to residential accommodation becoming a possibility. In response, the property was listed as an asset of community value on September 30 2021.

Although unsold, the pub remained trading until March 2023 when the doors of the pub were shut for what was feared to be the last time.

In response to the realisation that the village might be without a pub and social hub, over 100 members of the local community came together at a public meeting to save the Black Lion.

After a survey of views and further meetings of over 20 individuals who had expressed their willingness to contribute to the project, a decision was taken to set up a small technical group to explore the scope to secure a community purchase of the pub and so the Black Lion Community Group was born.

In response to the level of community concern, the landlord very kindly agreed to reopen the pub to provide the community with a period of time to secure
the purchase of the pub as a community-owned venture.

Future plans for the Black Lion

The group said: “We want the pub to at the heart of the community. A meeting place offering a friendly welcome to all, somewhere for groups and clubs to use as their base, and a constructive collaborative partner to help deliver externally organised community events.

“The pub is well placed to enhance the offering of the adjacent village hall, the Globe Hall, which is well known venue for music, theatre, film and indoor activities. We want to help re-establish the Ireby Music Festival an annual event which attracted large crowds, but sadly ended due to Covid.”