Support truly
independent journalism
Jeremy Clarkson has revealed plans to open a “British produce” Cotswolds pub as part of his latest expansion of the Clarkson’s Farm empire.
The 64-year-old will take over rural country pub The Windmill in Asthall – a “village boozer” on five acres of countryside near Burford.
Clarkson bought the pub near his 1,000-acre Diddly Squat Farm and Hawkestone Lager brewery for less than £1 million after a lengthy search.
The Amazon Prime star announced his purchase – a pub provisinally named ‘The Clarkson’s Arms’ – in The Times on Sunday.
“The pub business is dying,” wrote Clarkson, adding that pubs are “closing at the rate of more than a thousand a year.”
Described on its current Facebook page as a “stunning 15th-century vaulted barn venue with breathtaking panoramic views across rolling Costwolds” the Oxfordshire pub announced it was under new ownership on 4 June.
Formerly a wedding and banqueting venue, the space holds a four-star rating on TripAdvisor.
To Clarkson’s surprise, West Oxfordshire district council approved plans to transform the “dogging site” that is “full of dead rats” into a “fun” village watering hole.
The new endeavour, an expansion of his on-screen hospitality efforts in Clarkson’s Farm, follows Clarkson’s failure to secure planning permission to turn a farm barn into a restaurant.
Clarkson’s plans to renovate the drinking establishment with a clubhouse, bar billiards, dominoes and darts are a far cry from the pub’s current state.
“The cellar is too small, the gable end is falling down, the outside decking area is dangerous, the water is unfit for human consumption, the loft is full of dead rats and the lavatories are illegal”, said the ex-Top Gear host of the pub’s current condition.
As for his vision – chatting with regulars about “nothing of any consequence”, family Sunday roasts and Hawkestone beer on tap.
There’ll be no coffee or Coca Cola on the menu inspired by 1970s Yorkshire. Instead, dishes will use produce from Diddly Squat and even salt and pepper will be “reared in Britain”.
A free pint for the “nation’s farmers” alongside a mental health forum for locals on “wet weekdays” are also on the agenda.
Clarkson previously considered purchasing the Grade II listed Coach & Horses Inn in Bourton-on-the-Water, before buying the Burford pub on a ”famous dogging site”.
He predicts that the pub will not open its doors until winter due to a commitment to a young couple who are having their wedding reception there this summer and the extensive repairs.
For more travel news and advice listen to Simon Calder’s podcast.
