Burned-down pub site in Pampisford is an eyesore one year on, say villagers
There is frustration about a lack of progress at the site of a village pub that burnt down a year ago, which residents say is still “an eyesore”.
Residents of Pampisford have been trying to find out what is going to happen to the site of former pub The Chequers after it was gutted in a blaze in December last year. The centuries-old building was then demolished just a week later by owner Admiral Taverns.
Now villagers are asking why nothing appears to be happening at the site a year after the fire and want the rubble cleared. They are also hopeful a new pub could be built.
However, it appears the plot has been sold but Admiral Taverns has not revealed the identity of the new owner.
Pampisford parish councillor Joanna Hudson said: “The pub caught fire in December last year and within just two or three days the brewery had knocked it down without any consultation with the village. People were really upset. And now they have sold the site and we still don’t know who bought the site or what their intentions are with it. It’s an absolute eyesore.
“Our village is a really pretty thatched cottage type of place and we’ve got this massive awful eyesore of a burnt-down, demolished pub and we don’t know what’s happening with it.
“Our village really needs a pub and we don’t have one since the fire. We just have a church and a village hall. There’s nothing else for recreation in the village. The pub was 400 years old and it was one of the only things of social value in the village.
“We’re quite a close-knit village and the pub was a real community hub, especially during Covid when it took out food deliveries to people.
“It used to do the best Sunday roasts and you’d have to book weeks in advance to get in there on a Sunday.
“And it was a really old building with lots of history within its walls. It’s just such a shame, not only the fire, but the fact the brewery decided to knock it down afterwards.
“We’d love to see a pub rebuilt there. That would be an absolute dream.”
Around 50 firefighters were called to the blaze on December 8 last year, but the building could not be saved. The crews worked throughout the night and into the morning to prevent the fire from spreading to neighbouring thatched properties.
A fire service investigation later concluded the blaze was started accidentally.
A spokesperson for Admiral Taverns told the Cambridge Independent that the company “can confirm that the pub was sold back in July this year” but added: “Unfortunately, due to confidentiality reasons, I can’t share any more details on the new owner currently.”
The building that became The Chequers pub is believed to have been built in the 16th century and was at that time a farmhouse, but by 1776 it had become a public house. At one time it also housed a smithy. In 1973, the thatched roof and the central chimney were destroyed by a fire but the pub was repaired. Now villagers hope the pub could rise again from the ashes.
