Villagers in Cossall have shared their memories of its only pub which could be knocked down as plans proposed to demolish it and build houses. The Gardeners Inn, in Cossall, near Ilkeston, closed and was boarded up after the landlady’s lease expired in February.
Landlady Sue Maxwell recently told Nottinghamshire Live that she is ‘gutted’ about the plans to knock it down. Proposals have now been submitted to Broxtowe Borough Council to replace the pub with five detached houses.
We spoke to Cossall residents who shared their memories of The Gardeners Inn and said that ‘it’s a shame’ to see it go. Daniel Winter, 31, manager at Trinity Farm Shop and Cafe, on Awsworth Lane, said he grew up going to The Gardeners Inn with his family.
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Mr Winter said: “I grew up here, I grew up going to the pub with my family. It just seems to have bad luck - it’s changed owners too much. Its land had a big garden. All my memories of it are of large groups, my mum, my dad and friends. It was a family pub. It had a big garden space and it could do a lot. It’s land had a big garden.”
Resident Brian Dench, who is 72 and retired, said it’s a shame to lose the pub. “It was a typical village pub - it’s a shame to lose it,” Mr Dench said. £I’d soon see it as a pub then houses, it’s just dead now. Why would you knock that down? It's a nice pub, they took the garden off it. I used to go occasionally, they did food and everything.”
One villager who is a member of the skittles team at The Gardeners Inn, told Nottinghamshire Live that it’s "not just a pub" and described it as a "village hub". The man, who asked not to be named, said: “I’m a member of the skittles team at the Gardeners Inn. We have moved to the Gate inn at the bottom end of the village.
“It’s a shame we haven’t got it as a village hub. We’ve been here 19 years and our main memories when we first moved was that it was the go to place for food. It was always busy. We regularly went for a Sunday dinner. Since then memories are mainly skittles for me. It’s losing village assets, it's not just a pub. It was the only pub in Cossall.”
