Save Coach and Horses in Danehill

URGENT: Save The Coach and Horses in Danehill — Community Share Offer Campaign Launches Now

Time is short. The Coach and Horses — Danehill’s pub since 1847 — is on the open market for £695,000.. Residents are being asked to come to an urgent community meeting and back a community-led effort to buy it and keep the pub locally owned and operated.

Join us: 7:30pm, Tuesday 25 at Chelwood Gate Village Hall or Wednesday 26 August at Danehill Village Hall — hear the plan, ask questions, and find out how to support our campaign

DANEHILL, East Sussex — For nearly 180 years, The Coach and Horses has been where Danehill comes together — and right now, its future is genuinely at risk. Longtime licensees Ian and Catherine Philpots are retiring, the pub is up for sale, and unless local people act, it could be gone from community hands for good. A community group currently being formed, The Danehill Chelwood Gate Community Benefit Society, is asking the local residents to support and invest in a community share offer and buy the pub outright — keeping the pub independent and local, while securing current staff and levels of service. The campaign is being supported by Plunkett UK, and is in the process of registering as a Community Benefit Society, with the backing of Christine Coleman, the local ward councillor.
Every day The Coach and Horses sits on the open market, the chance grows that it is bought by a brewery, developer or unknown private buyer and Danehill loses the longstanding culture and quality of this beloved pub for good.
A Pub at the Heart of the Village Since 1847
Since 1847, The Coach and Horses has served the communities of Danehill, Chelwood Gate and surrounding area — first as an ale house, now as a country pub and restaurant on the fringe of Ashdown Forest. Its 19th-century stone building, original public and saloon bars, real fires, and farmhouse-style furniture have been lovingly preserved, giving it one of the most authentic historic pub interiors in the area.
As a genuine free house, The Coach and Horses has built its reputation on quality and independence — pouring Sussex ales from Harvey’s, alongside guest ales from local breweries, locally produced Black Pig cider from Danehill itself, and award-winning English sparkling wine from the nearby Bluebell Vineyard. Its kitchen has earned a strong reputation for seasonal, locally sourced food, from Sunday roasts to a well-regarded à la carte menu, drawing diners from across Sussex as well as villagers popping in for a pint by the fire.
With a large garden, a children’s play area, an adults-only terrace beneath an old maple tree, and views out toward the South Downs, this is more than somewhere to eat and drink. For most people reading this, it’s where you had your wedding reception, your parents’ anniversary, your regular Sunday table. Losing it to a dt owner would mean losing that — not gradually, but potentially within months.

Why Community Ownership, Why Right Now
Left to the open market, there is a real and immediate risk that The Coach and Horses is bought by a national pub company or brewery chain, a change of use developer, an unknown private owner, or an inexperienced publican — a path that, as other local villages have seen, too often means tied beer ranges, rising prices, or closure and a slow loss of the independent character and local community that makes a village pub worth saving in the first place.
Community ownership offers a different future: one where the pub stays a free house, where current staff are kept on and quality of food and service remains the same. As important, profits are reinvested in Danehill where the people who actually use the pub have a real say in how it’s run. But that future only happens if enough local people invest before the sale is decided — not after.
Villages that have taken the community-led route have found their pubs reenergised — as a genuine hub for residents of all ages. Community-owned pubs also have a strong track record of survival compared with the wider trade, precisely because the people who invest in them are the people who use them. This has been done successfully in over 230 villages across the country, with almost another 100 active campaigns currently in process. This has been successfully realised locally at the The King’s Head is East Hoathly.
Backed by Plunkett UK and Local Representation
The campaign is working directly with Plunkett UK, the national charity that specialises in supporting communities to buy and run their own pubs, shops, and other rural businesses. Plunkett UK has supported hundreds of community pub campaigns across the country, providing advice on setting up a legal structure, running a share offer, and building a sustainable business plan — expertise the Danehill campaign is drawing on as it moves toward a formal share offer.
The campaign also has the support of Christine Coleman, the local ward councillor, who is supporting residents’ efforts to secure the pub’s future as a community-owned asset.
How Danehill Can Get Involved — Today
This only works if local people help to support the effort, and it only works in time if they do it now. Residents of Danehill, Chelwood Gate, and the wider Mid Sussex area are urged to come out to the all village meetings and learn about what this means, how it can work for us and what we all need to do to support the community share offer to purchase The Coach and Horses and secure its future as an independent, locally run free house.
How to support: send your interest to Duane Lawrence, duane@keepcandhlocal.org
Media contact: Margaret Wagner, margaret@keepcandhlocal.org
How you can help: Come and hear the plan in person. There are two local meetings being held Tuesday 25 August, 7:30pm Chelwood Gate Village Hall, Beaconsfield Road, Chelwood Gate and Wednesday 26 August, 7:30pm, Danehill Village Hall, London Road, Danehill

“The Coach and Horses has been the heart and soul of Danehill and the wider community for over 200 years. Keeping it local is so important to the culture of our community. We’ve seen too many local pubs struggle after being sold or worse, going out of business and changing use to homes. The Coach and Horses has delivered great food, fantastic local connection and defining culture to our community. We need to keep it that way, and local ownership only helps to ensure that for future generations. Help us give this give to each other and to those that come after us.”
— Duane Lawrence, Chairperson. The Danehill Chelwood Gate Community Benefit Society

About The Coach and Horses
The Coach and Horses is a Grade II-listed 19th-century free house on School Lane, Danehill, East Sussex, within easy reach of East Grinstead, Haywards Heath, and Gatwick Airport. It has traded continuously since 1847 and has been run by Ian and Catherine Philpots as licensees.
About Plunkett UK
Plunkett UK is a national charity supporting rural communities to set up and run their own community-owned businesses, including pubs, shops, woodlands, and farms. It provides free advice and practical support to community groups at every stage of a community buyout, from initial feasibility through to running a share offer and beyond.

Media contact:
Margaret Wagner
margaret@keepcandhlocal.org, 0750 2255 207