Pulling Power

A good pub within walking distance is on most buyers’ wish lists and can even uphold an area’s value. But what makes the perfect village pub? Arabella Youens investigates

- Annunciata Elwes

IF the idea that a village pub can sell a country house sounds a bit extreme, here’s a story to prove it. When the parents of James Mackenzie, head of the country house department at Strutt & Parker, were in Oman and reading a copy of COUNTRY LIFE, they spotted an old rectory near Lyme Regis in Dorset for sale.

‘As soon as they could, they jumped on a plane and booked a viewing,’ says Mr. Mackenzie. ‘When they reached the top of the drive, my father jumped up onto the gate to inspect the exterior and its aspect. Then, without venturing any further, he took the agent for lunch in the pub opposite. Once that had passed the test, they bought the house—barely bothering to look inside.’

That a pub acts as a binding force within a community was ever thus, but, today, this role is on the rise, believes Harry Gladwin of The Buying Solution, Knight Frank’s buying arm, who says a good village pub comes within the top three requirements of a country-house buyer. ‘It’s a place where everyone meets, regardless of background. This mix of people and ideas around an open fire is what breathes life back into many villages and—unlike village shops— can never be replaced by Amazon.’