Plans to reopen village pub after sudden closure

The Windmill Inn in Badby was taken back by its owners the Warr family on December 19.

People trying to visit the pub were greeted with a sign on the door telling them the pub had been repossessed, and who to get in touch with if they had items inside.

Now, speaking to the Daventry Express, Graham Warr says they hope to find new tenants and reopen the pub in a few months.

He said: “We intend to get new tenants in to run it.

“But there is a lot of work that needs doing on it before then, primarily outside, and a damn good clean inside.

“We are aiming to get an advert out by the end of January using Fleurets, which is a specialist pub letting agency.

“Anyone who is genuinely interested in taking it on should keep an eye out for the advertisement.

“It’s a bit like selling a house – there are lots of steps and agreements to go through, but we are aiming to get it reopened as soon as possible.”

As well as being a village pub, the 17th century building also contains a small number of B&B rooms and in recent years also ran a restaurant.

Online reviews rated the venue highly, giving the pub, restaurant and B&B an average five out of five star rating.

The Warr family bought the Windmill Inn at the end of the 1980s and although they have never run it themselves, it has remained with them since.

Mr Warr said the pub had been owned by the family for many years, and would continue to be so.