Broad Face operator being wound up while GK quits the Old Anchor
The company running Oxford CAMRA’s Town and Village Pub of the Year has appointed liquidators and is to be wound up. The Broad Face is trading as normal but landlady Kealey Hitchings has announced her intention to leave at the end of this week, with staff telling customers that they don’t know what is happening. The pub is owned by Greene King, as is the King Charles Tavern in Newbury which is also leased by Vital Events (UK) Ltd.
“I can’t tell you anything regarding what’s happening with the pub, as I have not been informed,” said Kealey, one of Abingdon’s most popular landladies. “I sadly will be leaving the Broad Face, and my last day will be September 10. The Broad Face is a fantastic pub, and in my eyes can continue to be a great pub. I do hope it continues to serve great beer and food, and it will always have a very special place in my heart. I have enjoyed managing the Broadie and will miss it very much.”
Loss of the Broad Face or a different style of operation would be a major blow to Abingdon and to CAMRA, as would any change to the King Charles Tavern in Newbury, also still trading, where Kealey worked for six years before coming to Abingdon. Both are real ale pubs and in the 2023 Good Beer Guide.
Vital Events director Imran Khan, known as Joshua, has not responded to requests for comment. In February, he attended Oxford CAMRA’s Awards Night to pick up his Town and Village award, with Kealey and some of his family.
The Old Anchor Inn in Abingdon closed in May. Greene King has confirmed that it is ending its involvement in this Thames-side pub, raising hopes that it might be taken over by an independent operator. “We have explored options for the ongoing operation of the Old Anchor Inn but have reluctantly concluded we are no longer the most appropriate operator for the pub,” said the brewery. “We are therefore in discussion about ending our involvement with the pub with representatives of the freehold owner.”
It is understood that the Grade II-listed building is owned by Christ’s Hospital of Abingdon, Oxfordshire’s oldest charity, which also owns historic almshouses and Albert Park in the town. Under Greene King the pub drifted in recent years, with little or no real ale available, and many locals feeling it was far from realising its potential. The former Morland pub was converted from three 17th century cottages to become a pub in 1884.