A renowned West Berkshire pub and countryside eatery has been forced to close its doors to the disappointment of many loyal customers.

Located in the beautiful village of Hungerford, The Great Shefford Pub has been a regular haunt among the community after the current owners bought and renovated it in 2019.

Owners, Joshua and Georgi posted a closure notice on the pub's Facebook page citing ‘challenges following the pandemic’ as the reason for the decline.

This was following news that there may be a prospective sale of the pub.

The Facebook post stated: “We are incredibly proud of the transformation that we have overseen at The Great Shefford, the great improvements we have made and the parts of the business that we’ve been able to develop.

“We have been thrilled to host many village events, support local charities and provide employment for many of our locals.

“Unfortunately, as for so many hospitality businesses, the challenges following the pandemic have been too great.”

The pub owners have said that they are now excited to focus their energies on their other two pubs in Newbury and Abingdon.

Over the years, the business has held many community events and nights which were attended by members of the village community.

This included quiz night, Summer BBQ’s, live music and dancing around the Christmas tree at the annual lights on event.

The pair added: “While we know that we have not always been able to please everyone on this journey, we are incredibly grateful to those in our community who have shown the pub such loyalty during times of change, we will miss you all & we wish the new owners every success!”

The Great Shefford recently appeared in the Muddy Stilettos guide of ‘Best Pubs in the UK for Roast Dinners’.