WORLDHAM’S Three Horseshoes pub has been awarded a ‘Badge of Honour’ by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) as a result of villagers and visitors rallying their support and voting it an “asset of community value”.

The Badge of Honour is part of CAMRA’s campaign to protect England’s most treasured community pubs from demolition or conversion to other uses.

Landlords John and Gill Manning-Smith now have another award to the many they have received since taking over the pub three years ago, including Fullers’ Master Cellarman awarded to John for excellent beer quality and cellar management, Cask Marque Certificate of Excellence for serving magnificently kept cask ales, and East Hampshire District Council’s five-star food standard hygiene rating.

And Trip Advisor has given them a ‘Certificate of Excellence’ for the second year running for the number of ‘excellent’ reviews from guests.

Asset of community value nominations give communities the power to safeguard valued pubs.

CAMRA branches and community groups across the country are now working hard to get 3,000 pubs listed as assets of community values by the end of 2016 to help stem the number of pub closures, which currently stands at a rate of 29 per week.

Tim Page, CAMRA’s chief executive, said: “It is fantastic to see community groups across England coming together to protect pubs by listing them as assets of community value. This is a testament to the effectiveness of putting power back into the hands of local communities and giving them a chance to have a say in shaping their town centres. We hope to more than double that figure by this time next year.

“Assets of community value status also generates vital support for local pubs and highlights the wide variety of community-orientated events and activities that contribute significantly to local civic life.

“With 29 pubs closing every week we want to secure greater support for asset-listed pubs to ensure that they continue to be at the heart of our communities.”

As landlords, the couple have made a tremendous success of the attractive Edwardian pub with its pretty garden having changed careers and counties, moving from Hertfordshire to become publicans. John was a social worker and Gill an occupational therapist when they took over The Three Horseshoes and found “it isn’t an easy business but we love it”.

They used that love and a lot of energy and hard work to make the pub both a welcoming place for the locals to enjoy as well as one that would attract visitors wanting to stay while exploring the beautiful surrounding countryside.

They have achieved both goals, offering comfortable rooms and delicious breakfasts, as well as pub food which Gill says is all home cooked.

“And we sometimes like to add a twist to make it special such as our shepherds pie with a lamb lollipop or an expresso tiramisu with chocolate spoon or lemon posset, a very old English dessert,” she said.

“We have two chefs and we are very proud of them and our team who give us so much help and support as we want to be the best and a place where guests come to have a great meal in warm and relaxing surroundings,” she added.

The couple have had a great response from villagers while people from neighbouring villages are also regular customers, “especially on Friday nights”.

“We are grateful and enormously proud our regulars have sponsored us for the Badge of Honour award and we thank them all for the friendship and good counsel they have provided along the way.”

The couple, who have four children, have decided to take on a second three-year tenancy, which prompted Gill to say: “Call it our pre-retirement folly.”

The Three Horseshoes is also a member of Geocaching, the outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices which is being promoted by East Hampshire District Council to encourage walkers to use the South Downs National Park.

Those on the scheme are given a passbook and walkers choose to search for a geocache hidden at different locations. If they find them they get their book stamped at a pub to give them bonus points.

Anyone staying overnight in the area gets extra bonus points, as do cyclists.