A pub close to Swindon has been listed for sale after it was forced to close in April.

The Crown in Shrivenham is for sale for £695,000, with permission to turn it into housing.

The public house in the “quaint” village near Swindon was popular for its food and friendly staff.

But former owners, Kate Hall and Phil Kent, said the business struggled after the pandemic and decided to cut their losses.

The agent, Parkers, describes the building’s “period character” with a “pleasing sense of space” which “would make this a most comfortable home”.

It describes the pub’s large kitchen, a beamed dining room with the original bar, and two further reception rooms with a fireplace and tiled floor.

It adds: “Shrivenham is a thriving village dotted with quaint thatched cottages.”

Kate previously said: “It's quite sad that we're going; I know people’s names, I know what they drink and it's sort of like home from home for a lot of people.

She explained: “We were worried we were doing something wrong but it's nothing like that. It's just the way of the world.

“We feel better now that we've made the decision and that we can just look ahead to what we're going to do next.”

She thanked staff members from over the years saying many had become firm friends.

The pub had 4.7-star reviews on Google. One reviewer wrote: “Not so much of a pub as a restaurant with a pub bar, the Crown serves excellent and reasonably priced food. 

“The burger was handmade and absolutely delicious and the ale was very good indeed. The staff are really friendly and welcoming and couldn’t do more to help!”

Another shared: “Fantastic place to eat, service is impeccable & really friendly staff. Atmosphere is fantastic. Number one place to eat in the area.”

There are two planning permissions: one to turn it into a two of three and two-bed houses, and a second for a single home.

As part of the permission to turn the pub into a home is permission for a first-floor extension above the kitchen.

Many pubs around the country have struggled to make enough money since the pandemic with drinks sales falling due to changing habits and costs rising.

According to the Campaign for Real Ale, 1,293 UK pubs closed in 2023 resulting in 20,000 lost jobs.

Of the surviving pubs, the British Institute of Innkeeping says that three-quarters of pubs were not profitable in 2023.