Lord-Lieutenant marks official opening of new rooms at the Royal Oak in Bishopstone

Beer and organic canapes were very much in evidence at the official opening of dozen new rooms at Helen Browning's Royal Oak pub in Bishopstone yesterday.

At the launch event were Mrs Troughton, the Lord-Lieutenant of Wiltshire as well as pub landlords Helen Browning and Tim Finney, members of the Arkell's family and invited guests.

To mark the opening, Mrs Troughton, Helen Browning and Arkell’s Brewery managing director, George Arkell planted two oak trees.

Helen Browning said: “Working with Arkell’s Brewery,; we hope to have created something really special here - bringing elements of the farm and beautiful Wiltshire countryside into each room. This is a really exciting moment for us. Not only can we welcome more visitors to the pub and Eastbrook Farm, but this new venture will create more jobs. At a time when many farms get by with very few people, I’m proud that this place is so alive and busy.”

Brewery managing director, George Arkell, said: “It’s been a long time in the planning but we’re delighted to be backing Helen Browning and Tim Finney. They’re long-standing tenants who have invested a huge amount of their own time and money building the trade over the last ten years or so.

"They’ve successfully created a destination pub in a really gorgeous part of Wiltshire, so it’s been a joint effort between the brewery and Eastbrook Farm to give the village and surrounding area a pub we hope they’ll be proud of.”

Named and themed after fields on the Browning's farm, the new bedrooms have been designed with strong eco-friendly credentials and two of the rooms are dog friendly. As a result of the new development Helen Browning’s Royal Oak will employ the equivalent of four additional full time staff taking the number of employees to over 35 across the businesses.

The Wiltshire family brewery has also extended the kitchen and bar at Helen Browning’s Royal Oak and improved the car park and grounds.