RESIDENTS in Walton are set to raise a glass this weekend as they mark the official opening of a new bar.

It’s being opened for the first time tomorrow by Graham Shaw who has bought and developed The Old Vicarage.

He has transformed redundant outbuildings at the site into a microbrewery and bar. There are also future plans to create accommodation, including a breakfast area for guests, a drying room and a bike store.

The village, near Brampton, has been without its pub for some years and it’s hoped the development will be welcomed locally.

“Having the bar and brewery is very much about being part of the community,” said Graham, 56.

“I think a lot of people are looking for things that will bring the village together and give it a solid future. Having a bar and brewery will help with that.

“Although there is the village hall and The Reading Room, which have been very successful, there are a lot of people who miss the pub, so the idea of having a bar back is really positively received.”

Graham, who lives with his wife Charlotte and one of his three daughters, bought the property in 2016 and moved in nine months ago.

Until now, he has been creating his ales in breweries down the country and they’ve been tried and tested at some of the pub evenings held in Walton’s village hall.

“[People] have been very positive,” he said. “It has basically sold out so we couldn’t ask for more. It has given us confidence we can brew stuff people are going to want.”

The Old Vicarage, built in 1838, was once a farm, with outbuildings built around a courtyard. The former cow byer, hayloft and stables were redundant and there was little hope for their future.

But Graham was keen to save them and set to work on the project a year ago.

“If we hadn’t done it, they were starting to fall apart. It has been positively received that we are bringing back life to something that would have just disappeared,” he said.

The byer has been transformed into the rustic bar which will be open on Friday and Saturday nights from 6pm to 10pm.

Graham is taking things a step at a time. He’s due to start brewing his ales - Coachman, Old Vicarage Best and Pesky Pheasant - in January and is hoping to develop the coach house into accommodation by March next year.

The brewery is classed as an entry level system, a 2.5 barrel microbrewery, which is run on a part-time basis.

Each brew will produce one barrel of beer, with just a single brew run possible each week.

Noise will be minimal and easily contained in the building housing the brewery. No truck or lorry access is needed due to the size of the brewery and only a 4x4 or small van would be required to bring grain and hops on to the site.