{"id":2524,"date":"2025-04-22T07:49:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T07:49:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/?p=2524"},"modified":"2025-04-23T08:55:33","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T08:55:33","slug":"one-of-britains-oldest-pubs-closes-its-doors-after-nearly-500-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/22\/one-of-britains-oldest-pubs-closes-its-doors-after-nearly-500-years\/","title":{"rendered":"One of Britain\u2019s oldest pubs closes its doors after nearly 500 years"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\"Hole\t<\/div>
This corner building down an alley in the seaside town Torquay costs too much rent for Hole in the Wall to afford<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of Britain\u2019s oldest pubs has called last orders<\/a> after nearly 500 years pulling pints.<\/p>\n

First opened in 1540, the Hole in the Wall, in Torquay, Devon<\/a>, is older than Shakespeare and the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s survived two World Wars and 22 monarchs, spanning from King Henry VIII to the the invention of Bitcoin<\/a> and the iPhone<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But the 485-year-old pub hasn\u2019t survived the rising costs plaguing Britain. Hole in the Wall just can\u2019t afford its rent.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m very, very sad, of course I\u2019d like to carry on\u2019, pub landlord Richard Rossendale-Cook, 81, told ITV News last month.<\/p>\n

\u2018But unless somebody comes up \u2013 a Russian oligarch or someone will give me \u00a3360,000 to go and pay off the bill, you know \u2013 you\u2019re gonna shut and that\u2019s the end of it.\u2019<\/p>\n

More than 400 pubs closed<\/a> across England and Wales last year, despite consumer spending at bars, pubs and clubs rising 3.6% from 2023.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Hole\t<\/div>
Wooden beams in the ceiling help give the pub its old-timey feel (Picture: The Hole in the Wall\/Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rossendale-Cook blames changing habits and competition from low-price chains for declining footfall.<\/p>\n

Even being a historic landmark and tourist destination doesn\u2019t appear to have helped.<\/p>\n

He said: \u2018It might be that the world is just totally changing. [People say] \u2018oh I love your pub, I\u2019ve never been anywhere like it\u2019 \u2013 but they don\u2019t come back. They\u2019ve been in here, they\u2019ve got the T-shirt and that\u2019s it.<\/p>\n

\u2018It might just be the costs and everything, unless the government steps in and helps publicans out or breweries out or whatever, it could really be the end.\u2019<\/p>\n

Hole in the Wall closed its doors on Sunday, April 13, prompting an outpouring of grief from locals.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\t\"Hole\t<\/div>
Generations of families ate and dined here over the centuries (Picture: The Hole in the Wall\/Facebook)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of them, Malcolm Gleave, wrote on Facebook: \u2018You were one of the reasons we chose Torquay. I am so disappointed. The food was great.\u2019<\/p>\n

Another, Richard Beasley, said: \u2018Gutted, wishing you all the very best for the future! Thank you for all the great memories over the years where we\u2019ve spent each night whilst their.\u2019<\/p>\n

Announcing the closure on Facebook last month, the pub said: \u2018We\u2019d like to thank you all for your loyal custom over the years, with many great memories created, to add to the centuries\u2019 more storied history here at the Hole.\u2019<\/p>\n

One of London\u2019s historic pubs unexpectedly closed in February. Ye Olde Swiss Cottage<\/a> had been a fixture on the Finchley Road roundabout since 1830.<\/p>\n

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) called on government intervention to halt the \u2018avoidable\u2019 scale of closures.<\/p>\n

Its CEO Emma McClarkin said in February: \u2018The scale of these closures is completely avoidable because pubs are doing a brisk trade.<\/p>\n

\u2018Consumer demand is there, however, profits are being wiped out with sky high bills and pubs are facing yet more rates and costs come April.<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019re right behind Labour\u2019s mission to supercharge growth and can deliver this economic boost across the UK, but only if it is easier for pubs to keep their doors open.<\/p>\n

\u2018Government must urgently bring in meaningful business rates reform and phase in new employment costs so pubs can keep boosting the economy, supporting local jobs, and remaining at the heart of communities.\u2019<\/p>\n

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

For more stories like this, <\/strong>check our news page<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This corner building down an alley in the seaside town Torquay costs too much rent for Hole in the Wall to afford One of Britain\u2019s oldest pubs has called last orders after nearly 500 years pulling pints. First opened in 1540, the Hole in the Wall, in Torquay, Devon, is older than Shakespeare and the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2524"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2530,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2524\/revisions\/2530"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}