'We want to create something more than a pub': Meet the family behind plans to reopen shuttered Bridgnorth inn

A village pub is set for a renewed lease of life after the family who owned it for more than 30 years bought it back, with plans to return it to its former glory.

Grand plans to refurbish The Danery in Quatford, near Bridgnorth, were revealed by a freshly submitted planning application last week.

The masterminds behind the proposal are the Meadows, a local family who picked up the keys just two weeks ago.

Mark and Sara Meadows, along with their children Henni and James, and James’ wife, Lauren, have brought the venue back into family ownership 20 years after it was sold by Sara’s parents, Alan and Jenny Wright.

The couple owned The Danery for more than 30 years before selling it in 2006. In the two decades since, the venue has had many guises - most recently as a popular haunt for bikers and classic car owners under the tenancy of Tina and Mark Freeman.

But the building has stood empty since the couple closed the doors in January. Now, the Meadows are looking to restore the venue to its former glory, with plans to create a space that offers much more than a traditional village pub.

The family hopes to create a multifunctional venue, with a large function space for families and events, alongside food and drink offerings spanning breakfast and lunch, as well as some evenings.

“We want to create something more than a pub,” James said.

“Evening trade is much harder to get being roadside, away from housing, so we have to think about how to make a pub work today.”

As well as extending the main building to provide dining room for a restaurant and a large function space, a recent planning application showed plans to renovate several outbuildings, which will create three holiday let units.

It’s a move that is set to provide a boost for local employment, with James highlighting the potential for three separate businesses - the holiday lets, the restaurant and the events space - to operate from the site.

But the purchase is much more than a business move for the family.

“My mum lived there as a child, so there’s a sentimental thing for her, having grown up there,” James said.

“But we also own the caravan park over the road. When my grandparents bought the pub, they bought all the land around it - so we have bought all of that back together for the first time in around 40 years.”

If the plans are approved, it’s expected that the venue will reopen towards the back end of 2027.