A LONG-empty Winchester pub is set to reopen, taken over by a Wiltshire brewery.

The Albion on City Road closed in August 2023, a blow to evening train commuters at the nearby station for whom it was a popular drinking place.

A notice in the window by Downton-based brewery Hop Back is advertising for bar staff.

It says: "Looking for part-time staff for up to 25 hours a week in a new real ale pub. Must be polite attentive and willing to learn."

The building is currently swathed in scaffolding  with workmen busy on the property. A sign for Prestige Homes is attached to the scaffolding but it is unclear if the two top storeys are being developed into flats.

Hop Back was founded in 1987 and currently operates nine pubs across the region, starting with the Wyndham Arms in Salisbury.

Landlord Simon Burrell who retired in August 2023 (Image: Adele Bouchard)

The CAMRA Good Beer Guide said in 2021 of The Albion: “A stone’s throw from Winchester railway station, this cosy L-shaped street-corner pub is a traditional straightforward drinking venue, serving three or four quality Flower Pots beers on draught – three regular and one seasonal/guest.”

Hop Back has been asked to comment.

The pub closed in August last year when owners Paul Tickner and Jo Bartlett, who bought the freehold in 2015, put the pub up for sale. Landlord Simon Burrell has been there for some eight years.

The property, including a cellar and bedrooms over three floors, was marketed with a guide price of £450,000.