Berkshire licensee to auction pub's antiques

The licensee of a Berkshire pub is auctioning some of the pub's bric-a-brac and antiques and is inviting his customers to place bids.

Robin Macdonald, who has just taken over Ye Old Red Lion at Chieveley near Newbury, is selling off some of the antiques because although he is keen to maintain the pub's traditional atmosphere, he wants to brighten it up and make it more appealing to customers.

Mr Macdonald said: "There were so many objects of interest, antiques and bric-a-brac scattered around the pub that I thought I'd taken over an antiques emporium." "The previous landlords were here for more than a decade. So I suppose that they'd just collected everything that came their way, never thinking to get rid of anything." Whilst Robin plans to keep some of the more interesting items, he's determined to find good homes for many of the others.

"I want to keep the best, get rid of the rest and throw open the pub's doors to the locals, offering good beer and good food that they can see," he said.

James Arkell, managing director of Arkell's Brewery, which owns the pub, said: "It's quite surprising how big parts of the bar are now looking now Robin's taken away some of the items and left the more interesting and unusual pieces."