THE FORMER owner of a pub in Buriton says its successful sale is the “end of an era.”

Bob Camping, who owns the picturesque Buriton Manor next to the Norman village church, admits selling the pub was a wrench.

As part of his wedding venue business at the manor, he offered accommodation at The Village Inn, a short walk from the manor.

But his business closed suddenly after its licence to hold weddings and receptions in the Manor Barn was revoked by East Hampshire District Council

The decision on January 28 came after the councils’ licensing committee heard that the venue in the heart of the small village had often been rowdy and noisy.

At the time, many couples who had booked the barn for their wedding were fearful of losing their deposits and other payments to Mr Camping’s company, Goosebumps Weddings.

Now the pub is sold, Mr Camping, who has since moved out of the village, now says he just wants to finish renovating and converting buildings at the manor.

He said: “Selling the Village Inn is the end of an era, I bought it to help with the wedding business, but that didn’t work out unfortunately.

“All the couples who booked the Manor Barn and paid their deposits were repaid as soon possible after it stopped trading. Everything was paid back very quickly.

“A group in the village and the parish council wanted to buy the pub, but unfortunately a sale price couldn’t be agreed.

“Then a provider of housing for the homeless offered the market price for it; he had a contract with a charity for the homeless in Hackney to rent rooms to them.”

But finally says Mr Camping he sold it to a former operations director with Whitbread and former managing director for Restaurant Associates Hotels.

He said: “The Village Inn in its’ superb locations should become a destination in its own right.”

He added its’ food provenance using local produce, alongside excellent local Hampshire ales, micro brewed beers and even a gin cellar, had to be a winning recipe.