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What next for The Feathers?
It was once a bastion of village life but The Feathers pub in Laleham now lies empty with villagers wondering if it has a future.
The pub, which is more than 200 years old, closed last month and is now boarded up and on the market, with its very existence uncertain.
The earliest documentary evidence concerning the pub dates back to 1796 and it is thought the car park at the front once served as a pick-up point for road traffic to and from London.
Also popular with the farming community, the pub in the Broadway was renowned for its bustling, busy nature right up until recent years, when trade began to fall away. The current financial climate further strangled the business and owner Courage shut the Feathers.
And, despite speculation a new owner is in the frame to take over, villagers are worried the pub may be lost forever.
Andy Taylor, who has drunk in The Feathers for more than 25 years, said: "It's such a nice pub and it's a real shame that places like this shut down. It's a proper local pub and I really hope someone takes it over and runs it properly."
Laleham Residents' Association chairman, Mary Madams said: "I heard somebody was going to buy it and convert it back into a nice traditional pub and I hope they do."
Pubs have been hit particularly hard by the credit crunch, with an average of five shutting nationwide each day.
In Spelthorne, The Swan in Moor Lane, Staines, shut last year, the Royal Hart in Church Road, Ashford, closed in December, while the Boundary in Staines High Street, the Dog & Partridge in Edinburgh Drive, Ashford, and the Cock Inn in Church Street, Staines, are all up for sale.
HISTORY OF THE FEATHERS
¥ The first record of the pub's existence in 1796 shows it was owned by William Porter, a brewer from Chertsey
¥ In the early 19th century the ownership changed hands frequently and it was leased to succesive tenants, usually for 14 year periods
¥ In 1850 it was leased by Thomas Keene to John Deacon for 40 years at a yearly rent of £13
¥ In 1857 it was sold to Frances Dobbs who in 1890 hiked the annual rent to £25
¥ On Miss Dobbs's death it passed to her sister who put the rent up to £40
¥ In 1921 it was auctioned in London and sold to Ashby's of Staines for £2,550
¥ Ashby's was acquired by H and G Simmons in 1936, which was then taken over by Courage in 1962
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