The Royal Oak in Mareham le Fen, Boston, Lincolnshire, has been a mainstay in the area and is one of the county’s oldest thatched pubs.
But bosses say the 15th century venue will close its doors for the final time at the end of November simply because it "isn’t well supported enough".
Unforeseen circumstance
The Bush family, which reopened the pub in September 2017 after a long closure, thanked customers for their support in a brief statement made on Facebook.
It read: "It is with great sadness that we have to announce that the Royal Oak will be closing its doors on 30 November for the foreseeable future.
"We would like to thank everyone who has unwaveringly supported us, but unfortunately the pub just isn’t supported well enough now to remain open.
"We have been left with no option but to put the building on the market.
"We can only hope that someone comes along who would like to buy it, or even rent it and can create a successful business or do something sustainable with the building."
Great sadness
The news was met with great poignancy by loyal customers who offered their support on social media.
"I cannot believe after all the hard work and money that has been put into the pub, the people of the village have again not supported the pub," one person commented.
Another wrote: "Such a lovely building and you all worked tirelessly to try and make it work.
"I’m amazed that there aren’t enough people in Mareham to keep, what is essentially, the hub of the village open and alive."
Critical acclaim
The Royal Oak boasts an average rating of 4.4 out of five based on 80 reviews on Google.
One food critic who visited the venue last year commented: "If the standard of food produced on our visit is anything to go by, then I have no doubt the Royal Oak will continue to be successful and thrive."
Their comments, unfortunately, come at a time when there are a growing number of pub closures in Britain.
According to the Campaign for Real Ale, between January and June of this year 476 pubs shut for good.
