Knowle Inn lures first-time buyers

The only pub in a Somerset village has been sold to first-time buyers for an undisclosed sum off an asking price of £110,000 for its leasehold. The Knowle Inn in Bawdrip, is near the A39, the Bridgwater to Glastonbury main road, and is close to the M5 motorway. "The inn's owner, Siobhan Charlesworth, decided to sell up and has now purchased a property in Prague," said Nicholas Calfe of Christie & Co's Bristol office. "The new owners are Peter and Christina Matthews, originally from Durham, who have worked locally in nearby Bridgwater for almost 30 years. "This is their first time in the pub trade, but they have brought with them Paul Hardware, an experienced chef, who has worked as head chef at Mullins restaurant in Street for the past 15 years." The Knowle Inn is a detached former coaching inn that has seen considerable investment and refurbishment in recent years. The public bar seats 16 people and has a large open fireplace, bar servery and exposed timbers. The split-level lounge bar has a dining area with 20 covers. The restaurant, which is used as a no-smoking room, has 22 covers and a family room for 14. Calfe added: "The inn also has an excellent lunch-time business trade, locally and from nearby Bridgwater." "It is ideally situated to capture passing trade on route to any of the tourist attractions in the vicinity, such as Cheddar Gorge.