Restoration complete at 600-year-old pub hit by car
BBCA pub which suffered severe damage when it was hit by a car two years ago has finally unveiled its new look.
The front of the 600-year-old Langport Arms hotel in Somerset was damaged in the incident in 2024, which caused the stone pillars on the doorway to collapse, bringing down the balcony.
The pub needed several organisations to approve the renovations, due to its status as a Grade II-listed building.
Head barman Pete Jones, who was on site when the car hit the building, said the stonemasons had done a "wonderful" job.
The driver was treated by paramedics at the scene but did not suffer any serious injuries, and nobody was arrested over the incident.
Planning permission was needed due to changing the material back to Ham Stone, with clearance finally given in May 2025.
Once the stone was lifted from the quarry, stonemason Luke Grafton then made the new pillars.
Grafton said he tried to match the original detail "as closely as we can work out from the dimensions we have from the original porch".
He said the most difficult bit of the operation was getting the one-tonne stones lifted into place, describing it as "squeaky bum time".
Jones, who said when the car hit the pub it felt like an "earthquake" added: "Everyone is happy with how it looks".
Bosses at the Langport Arms wanted to revert back to the original materials used to build the pub.
The new pillars and portico have been made by Ham & Doulting, a Somerset firm which used Ham Stone - the original stone on the building.
Zak England from company said: "I think I quarried it in September, October - we were then cutting in October, November.
"I was then working on it in January as well, so it's taken a good six months."
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