The historic Ring O’Bells pub in West Kirby is up for sale with a price tag of £1 million.
Property agent Fleurets, which is handling the sale of the 200 year-old Mock Tudor hostelry, say it would ideally suit another operator seeking to develop a food orientated business.
It is rumoured that the owners of a Wirral gastropub are interested in taking on the popular bar and restaurant, which has been a fixture of West Kirby since 1810.
However, the building – which is not listed, despite its long history – is also being marketed by the agents as a “development opportunity STPP [subject to planning permission]”, raising the possibility that the 2.5 acre site could be bought with a view to it making way for housing.
A spokesperson for Greene King said: “From time to time we have to take the difficult decision to sell a pub to be able to continue investing in our estate of high quality community pubs.
“Therefore after much consideration we decided to put the Ring O’ Bells on the market.”
The Ringers, as it is known locally, had a brief spell as a ‘Loch Fyne’ fish restaurant a decade ago, but the change didn’t last long and in 2010 it reverted to a traditional pub.
Pint pot history of The Ring O’Bells
- Built in 1810 and believed to be located on the site of an earlier pub
- The cellars are cut into the sandstone rock underneath
- At one time the pub had a bowling green and tennis courts in the grounds
- The lower part of the building used to be a snug, known as ‘Ernie’s Room’
- It hit the headlines in 2003 when it became one of the country’s first non-smoking pubs
