In 2020, it looked odds on that Ridsdale’s last public amenity – The Gun – would be sold to housing developers, so villagers formed the Ridsdale Community Group with the aim of saving the pub.

After a successful social media campaign, driven on twitter by wonderful crime writers such as Ian Rankin, Mari Hannah and Ann Cleeves plus a double page spread in the Observer (and subsequently The Guardian website) we raised in excess of £200,000.

Our community benefit society now has hundreds of shareholders from all around the world.  Volunteers from the village spent over 20,000 hours renovating and refurbishing the pub during 2020, and we opened our doors in May 2021.

As a community benefit society, it is our aim to make The Gun much more than just a pub – it must also be a resource for the local community. Plans for The Gun include a library, a free-to-use computer with internet access and a parcel pick-up point.

Watch this space…