The White Lion at Broadwindsor will soon be open as a community pub after a hugely successful fundraising campaign.

Broadwindsor Community Pub Ltd has signed the tenancy with Palmers Brewery and appointed a manager, Kate Staff, and her daughters, Chloe and Louise, to run the hostelry in the heart of the village.

Almost £50,000 has been raised through public donations and grant funding. A Crowdfunder appeal raised £34,760 with 337 supporters in 28 days. Further funding came from the parish council, Palmers, grants and other donations from the public. A pop-up bar – The Comrades Arms – which is open on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday evenings in the village hall, has so far raised nearly £6,000.

The money is being used to renovate the bar area, purchase kitchen equipment and supply working capital. It is hoped the pub will open its doors to the public in time for Easter.

The aim is to be modestly profitable but not for private profit. The White Lion will offer food and drink with an emphasis on local produce.

David Leader, chairman of The White Lion Management Committee, said: "We will strive to create a warm, friendly atmosphere and want the pub to be a hub for the community to visit, meet in and carry out as many community activities as possible.

"Locals and people from the wider area have wholeheartedly embraced the idea of a community pub. There is still lots of work to be done but we're looking forward to opening the doors and being able to welcome people inside The White Lion once again.

Local historian Richard Sims is researching the pub's history for the committee. It's a fascinating story. His research into the history of Palmers Brewery was the main source used in the book, Palmers, the Story of a Dorset Brewer.

The White Lion through the ages

The earliest record for the White Lion pub is from 1760 when it was a staging post for Russell's waggons, which ceased in 1807.

Palmers' deeds show that in 1808 it was owned by John Ewens (1762-1828) of Cheddonhole, but was on an annual tenancy to the Bridport Brewery Company, probably Gundry and Downe at the Old Brewery.

That date accords with the architecture of the building, which is certainly Georgian and which Historic England date to early 19th century.

John Ewens seems to have been the son of Samuel and Hannah Ewens of Broadwindsor. The Ewens family were also at Burstock where they were in the textile trade, possibly wool. The family was probably linked to the Bridport textile manufacturers.

Richard Sims, in his Bridport book, states: "Originally from Somerset the Ewens family moved to settle in Broadwindsor where Thomas Ewens may have been the dyer/wool sorter of Hursey-Burstock mentioned in a fire insurance policy of 1767. Shortly afterwards the family seems to have moved to the Bridport area, possibly following the collapse of the woollen industry in the West Country.

John Ewens died in December 1828 and left the White Lion to his brother-in-law, Robert Barfoot.

Robert Barfoot was living in Lyme Regis in 1845 and before that at Broadwindsor, Beaminster and Yeovil. He was previously butterfactor (Yeovil 1804), woolstapler and merchant but later described as gentleman. He married Mary Ewens at Broadwindsor in 1805. Barfoot died in March 1859 at Salford, Manchester. His executors, Messrs Grundy and Crosby, were authorised to sell it. Gundry was an auctioneer from Manchester and Crosby was a Salford Surgeon, the executors of Robert Barfoot. In 1859, the sale included stables and out houses and also a malthouse opposite. The sale was to Thomas Legg of the New Brewery in Gundry Lane, Bridport, who bought the freehold of The White Lion for £355. When Legg died in 1874 his son, Job, took over. The pub passed into the Palmers portfolio when they took over in 1896. It is one of the oldest pubs still to be a pub in Palmers' original portfolio. The pub has always been a popular watering hole in the centre of the village, even when Broadwindsor had four other pubs, including The Cross Keys and The George. In recent months, a pop-up bar, The Comrades Arms, has been running three nights a week in the village hall. It's given villagers the chance to get together socially on a regular basis while raising money for the appeal. Cider has been a very popular tipple at the Comrades Arms and it would seem that's always been the case in Broadwindsor - not surprising for a village pub in rural Dorset. Richard Sims' research shows that in 1948, some 2,646 gallons of cider were drunk at the White Lion. In 1953, the year of the Queen's Coronation, some 2,678 gallons of cider were consumed. Ale was popular, too, with 37 barrels of Bridport Bitter sold in 1948 and 35.5 barrels in 1953. (IPA was first introduced to the White Lion in 1954/5). Bottled beer also seemed to go down well, with 680 dozen pints and 129 dozen half pints sold in 1948 and 578 dozen pints and 299 dozen half pints sold in 1953. Thank you to Richard Sims and Margery Hookings for the information and photos. Don't forget to sign up to our newsletter below! You can submit your own news straight to Bridport Nub News by using the 'Nub It' button on our home page. This can also be done for events on our What's On page and businesses, groups and organisations on our Local Listings page , also by using the 'Nub It' button. Please like and follow our online newspaper on your favourite social media channel. You can find us @BridportNubNews on Facebook and Twitter.