Fiona Robinson-Blore and her partner Steve Girdler have taken over the leasehold of the village’s picturesque pub, built in 1610 and now owned by Oak Taverns.

Miss Robinson-Blore used to be manager of the Lord’s Tavern Bar and Brasserie at Lord’s cricket ground, and she has also managed a wine bar and a gastro bar in London, while Mr Girdler formerly worked in the telecoms industry.

“We have been looking for a pub for a couple of years and when we saw The Crown we just fell in love with it. It has such great potential,” Miss Robinson-Blore said.

The couple have already re-introduced bar food, lunchtime and evening meals and Sunday lunches, with the emphasis on simple but good quality food, freshly-prepared by new chef William Morgan.

”We are trying to source as much local produce as possible,” Miss Robinson-Blore said. “We also plan to develop the pub’s function room into a separate restaurant, but we are taking our time and not rushing as we want to make sure we get it right.”