Last orders for Rolleston Arms

The Rolleston Arms is to close only three months after it re-opened.

Landlord Matt Keeble took the keys to The Rolleston Arms and Level 3 on 5 February and opened the former on 15 March.

In an interview regarding the pubs opening with Swindon Link on 24 April, Matt said: "Music scenes all around the country have been damaged by what feels like an attack on the hospitality industry over the last few years by various Governments, and it's going to take some brave - or potentially stupid! - people to dive in and try and do something about that.

"The philosophy for this place [The Rolleston] is to bring it back to being a core part of the community. It's always been a community pub. Obviously we're building it quite slowly, but the idea is to make it a proper community pub again."

The announcement of the closure was made via social media on Saturday 16 May.

In a statement Matt said: "After a lot of thought, I’ve made the incredibly difficult decision to close The Rolly. Our final day will be Friday 5th June. I honestly don’t know where to begin.

“First and foremost, thank you to every single person who supported us over the last few months. The regulars, the musicians, the people who came down week after week, bought drinks, brought friends, played gigs, shared posts, had conversations at the bar, and helped give the place some life - you helped make this place feel special again.

“There have been some truly brilliant nights. Nights where the pub felt alive again. Nights that reminded me exactly why I took this on in the first place.

“But the reality is that, despite the support from our core crowd, we simply didn’t get enough people through the doors consistently enough to make the project financially viable.

“The long-term vision was never just the pub.

“The plan was to rebuild something bigger around live music and alternative culture in Swindon, with Level 3 becoming a huge part of that. But opening the club was always going to require a very significant amount of investment, and realistically, the pub needed to succeed first to prove the wider project could work.

“Without that foundation, the level of financial risk involved in moving forward with the club simply isn’t something I can justify taking on. That’s the hardest part of all.

“I know places like The Rolly and Level 3 mean a lot to people. They mean a lot to me too. That’s why this hurts so much.

“I’m sorry to everyone who believed in the project and wanted it to work. I genuinely gave this everything I had, financially, emotionally and physically, and I’m proud of what we tried to build, even though we couldn’t make it sustainable.

“For now, though, all I can really say is thank you. For giving me the opportunity, for the love, the new friends, the old friends and for all the belly laughs and sing alongs. Thank you, truly.

“We'll be honouring every booking between now and the 5th June. Let’s make the remaining weeks count and let's lift the roof off on our last night. I'll see you there.”