Church service held in Cheshire pub

The owners of a Macclesfield pub transformed its bar into a pulpit this weekend when they played host to a half hour church service.

The Reverend John Buckley, vicar of St Christophers' in Pott Shrigley, Cheshire, presided over the service at the Church House Inn, Bollington, on Sunday October 2. The service - captured by BBC and Sky News camera crews - took place at 6:30pm and included hymns, a psalm reading and organ music.

Around 80 people attended - a mixture of Mr Buckley's usual congregation and customers of the pub. "We were packed to the rafters," said Bob Gratton, a member of the 12-person consortium that bought the Church House Inn last July.

A hotpot supper was served afterwards. The pub served 65 meals at £5 a head and all the money went to the charity Tearfund

Bob said that running a service was an obvious decision to make when a church opposite the pub closed last year. "We bought it as a community pub, and I believe that you've got to live up to your word and be a community pub. The church and the pub are part of the community so we thought 'why not bring the church into the pub?'

The owners are now planning to host four or five services a year, with the next one at Christmas.