Village mourns loss of once-renowned pub now crumbling into next door's garden
- 7 months ago
A village pub that closed has now gone to ruin and is crumbling into next door's garden.
The once-renowned Lighthouse Inn village pub with views across the Channel used to host lavish opera nights but closed suddenly in 2019.
Locals now look on the abandoned pub on the cliffs of Capel-le-Ferne near Folkestone, Kent, as an 'eyesore'.
The building, constructed in the 1840s, is visibly crumbling since being left to the mercy of high winds blowing in from the sea.
Fed-up local residents are now calling for the venue to be returned to its former glory.
The business was renowned in the area for serving high-quality grub and also boasted hotel rooms.
But it suddenly shut in 2019 after disputes with the owners of the building.
Rachel Garrett, who has lived in the village for 20 years, said the Lighthouse used to be very family-friendly.
She said: "It used to be a really nice place to go because it was a family place you could take your kids to and it had nice gardens you could sit in.
“The previous owners had a Thai chef there and it was great because it was always somewhere nice you could go to where you would see the neighbours, socialise and have some really good food.
“But then they upped their game and started doing things like opera evenings, which I am not sure was something the village wanted.”
The 54-year-old added that were money not an issue, she would like to see the pub reborn as its former family-friendly self with holiday lets.
“People always wanted to visit here as it is beautiful,” Ms Garrett added.
“It is a real shame and I always thought we could have an internal gym with instructors who come to look after our ageing population, which I think would be a great facility.
“It is an absolute eyesore and it needs some really good investment as our concern is it could be ripped down and turned into housing.
"It's just gone to rack and ruin. It looks a right eyesore and it's deteriorated quite badly and has left all the villagers thinking, 'Well what's it going to be?'."
The inn was split into two parts in 1840: the Vineyard Lodge, which was used as a wine and ale house, and Capel Lodge where travellers would rest, according to archives.
Over the years it bore various names and was run as a home for psychiatric patients, a convalescing home and a country club.
But in February 1998, it was refurbished and opened under the new name of The Lighthouse.
Now, the site is in a sad state of affairs, with weeds overrunning the garden and car park, paintwork left untreated and signage removed from the building.
A wall has even collapsed into a neighbouring garden and the entrance warns passersby to ‘keep out’.
Martin Ingrouille, who has lived in the village for six years, says someone should be able to make a success of it as it is in such a 'prime spot'.
The once-renowned Lighthouse Inn village pub with views across the Channel used to host lavish opera nights but closed suddenly in 2019.
Locals now look on the abandoned pub on the cliffs of Capel-le-Ferne near Folkestone, Kent, as an 'eyesore'.
The building, constructed in the 1840s, is visibly crumbling since being left to the mercy of high winds blowing in from the sea.
Fed-up local residents are now calling for the venue to be returned to its former glory.
The business was renowned in the area for serving high-quality grub and also boasted hotel rooms.
But it suddenly shut in 2019 after disputes with the owners of the building.
Rachel Garrett, who has lived in the village for 20 years, said the Lighthouse used to be very family-friendly.
She said: "It used to be a really nice place to go because it was a family place you could take your kids to and it had nice gardens you could sit in.
“The previous owners had a Thai chef there and it was great because it was always somewhere nice you could go to where you would see the neighbours, socialise and have some really good food.
“But then they upped their game and started doing things like opera evenings, which I am not sure was something the village wanted.”
The 54-year-old added that were money not an issue, she would like to see the pub reborn as its former family-friendly self with holiday lets.
“People always wanted to visit here as it is beautiful,” Ms Garrett added.
“It is a real shame and I always thought we could have an internal gym with instructors who come to look after our ageing population, which I think would be a great facility.
“It is an absolute eyesore and it needs some really good investment as our concern is it could be ripped down and turned into housing.
"It's just gone to rack and ruin. It looks a right eyesore and it's deteriorated quite badly and has left all the villagers thinking, 'Well what's it going to be?'."
The inn was split into two parts in 1840: the Vineyard Lodge, which was used as a wine and ale house, and Capel Lodge where travellers would rest, according to archives.
Over the years it bore various names and was run as a home for psychiatric patients, a convalescing home and a country club.
But in February 1998, it was refurbished and opened under the new name of The Lighthouse.
Now, the site is in a sad state of affairs, with weeds overrunning the garden and car park, paintwork left untreated and signage removed from the building.
A wall has even collapsed into a neighbouring garden and the entrance warns passersby to ‘keep out’.
Martin Ingrouille, who has lived in the village for six years, says someone should be able to make a success of it as it is in such a 'prime spot'.