INTRODUCTION
The Elm Tree Inn has been the heart of the village of Langton Herring for over 300 years. Regrettably, in December 2023 the Inn finally closed its doors and our community lost its social cohesion as well as all of the rich history that we associate with this rural Inn.
In a village meeting in April 2024, the residents of Langton Herring and the wider community decided that it was important for the Elm Tree Inn to be reopened and one of the options considered was for the community to purchase the Elm Tree Inn. Thus a Steering Committee was established, community support was sought and the challenge to raise the necessary funds to purchase the Elm Tree Inn began. We were supported in this quest by the Plunkett Foundation and are grateful to them for all of their advice and support.
In January 2025 the villagers got together and launched a social media campaign and support in the form of share purchases and donations poured in from across the globe, from places we least expected, as well as those close to us in Dorset. We can’t thank those people enough. In little over six months we raised over £550,000, and on the 23rd May 2025 we managed to purchase the pub and its contents with the help of additional loans, which we want to pay off as soon as possible.
The Elm Tree Inn reopened on 14th July 2025 and we hope that people will continue to support us through share purchases and donations, as we move forward with our new tenants and create a community facility that welcomes everyone.
