Two Church House Inns sold in Devon

The Church House Inns in South Hams - have changed hands.

Two historic Devon inns bearing the same name and both located in one of the county's officially designated areas of outstanding natural beauty - the South Hams - have changed hands.

The Church House Inns, one at Churchstow and the other in Harberton, have been sold through Bettesworths.

The Church House at Churchstow, prominently situated on the A379 Kingsbridge to Plymouth Road, is a fine historic inn that began life as a Benedictine monks' rest home, belonging to the old Buckfast Abbey.

'Many of the great beams and stone walls are of the original structure, reputed to date from 1254. The building was subsequently used to house the masons working on the local church building, hence the name of the pub,' said Riccardo De Paulis of Bettesworths.

For the past 18 months, the inn has been successfully run by the Baker family, who are now moving on, having sold the freehold business to St Austell Brewery in Cornwall. It bought the pub for an undisclosed sum off an asking price of £850,000.

The pub has been taken over by experienced licensee, Andrew Cannon (who also runs the popular Victoria Inn in nearby Salcombe), and he has appointed Lauren Daniels to be the inn's manager.

The other Church House was originally built as a chantry house for monks in the 12th century. The present bar comprises the Great Hall, Chapel and Workshop. In 1327, the Abbot handed it over to the poor and in 1950, it passed out of the church's hands at which time the glorious fluted beams and the old oak screen were uncovered.

The Grade II-listed pub is held under a 15-year lease from December 2003 and was sold off an asking price of £125,000 leasehold. It was purchased by Hilary Sloan and Thomas Callander, an experienced chef, from Combeinteignhead in south Devon.