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In one of the more bizarre parts of the pub's history, the remains of a cat were uncovered in the cellar walls during renovations. The exact connection the cat had with the pub are unknown. The landlord, Keith
Nightingale, speculated it may have been placed there as "a good luck charm". The owners at
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is currently open
Wednesday to Sunday. It has a regular quiz night on Sunday evenings and a bridge night on Thursdays. In the summer, open air film screenings have become a fixture and a series of beer and music festivals have been held in the garden, including the newly created WestFest, which was
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Renovation and restoration work began in the following weeks with the assistance of around 50 volunteers. The old kitchen was stripped out and the room restored as a bar room. During the works, a pre-Victorian bread oven was discovered in the walls. The bar was rebuilt with reclaimed wood and a new
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In 2016, after several years of negotiations, a group of villagers and members of HWCPS joined together to make a fresh bid to buy the pub. On 31 January 2017, a sale finally went through and a grand re-opening was planned for the spring.
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Pub
Company to a private buyer. Six weeks later, on New Year's Day, the pub was closed and in March 2012 it was put up for auction. It failed to sell and was auctioned again two months later when once more, it failed to sell.
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building with a traditional thatched roof. Inside, the exposed beams and posts have been preserved, as well as the fireplace. According to surveyors, it was built at around 1750.
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newspaper in 1983, some patrons claimed that they could hear bells and occasionally singing monks in the bar room chimney.
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At the same time, a community group, the Hail Weston
Community Pub Society (HWCPS), was formed in the hope of buying the
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stone floor was laid. At the rear of the pub, in the 1960s era extension, a new kitchen was built from scratch.
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at the time. HWCPS made another, significantly higher, offer in 2015, but this was also rejected.
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A poster displayed in the village of Hail Weston during a community campaign to save the Royal Oak
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the time opted to restore the cat to its resting place in the wall, where it remainsy.
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775:"List of Public Houses Nominated for Listing as an Asset of Community Value"
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428:'s award for Most Improved Rural Pub in Huntingdonshire in October 2017.
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810:"Village pub set to re-open after community group steps in with offer"
539:"Go-karts make a come-back in annual village tradition in Hail Weston"
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697:"Save the Royal Oak: Hail Weston's campaign to buy its own pub"
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The offer was not accepted, news which made the front page the
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589:"How A Scrappy Community Bought Its Own Pub... Well Almost"
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has also hosted the "egg dump" (a more dramatic version of
508:"Re-opened village pub in the running for national award"
855:"Bavarian night returns to Royal Oak pub in Hail Weston"
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using eggs), a charity bicycle ride raising funds for
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In one era an "onion bowl" was held (a variation on
792:"Villagers bid to buy Huntingdonshire pub rejected"
699:. Hail Weston Community Pub Society. Archived from
369:In late 2012, HWCPS registered the Royal Oak as an
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46:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
748:. Huntingdonshire District Council. Archived from
330:was rumoured to host ta ghost. As reported in the
543:Huntingdon, St Ives and St Neots News & Crier
284:A number of local traditions revolve around the
895:"Village pub crowned 'most improved' at awards"
780:. Huntingdonshire District Council. 1 May 2018.
664:"Hail Weston gets chance to save village pub"
8:
569:. No. 9. January–March 2018. p. 16
292:group dances around the pub every summer.
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280:New Year go-kart races, Hail Weston, 1997
106:Learn how and when to remove this message
489:. Weston Parish Council. Archived from
463:. Weston Parish Council. Archived from
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963:Grade II listed pubs in Cambridgeshire
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630:"Royal Oak, High Street, Hail Weston"
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893:Daniel Mansfield (31 October 2017).
44:adding citations to reliable sources
853:Debbie Davies (19 September 2018).
743:"List of Assets of Community Value"
723:. Hail Weston Community Pub Society
358:and running it as a community pub.
816:. 14 February 2017. Archived from
646:. Network Auctions. Archived from
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882:. East Anglian Festival Network.
537:Edward Curwen (8 January 2014).
140:Royal Oak Pub, Hail Weston, 2002
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614:"Cat remains part of the pub".
31:needs additional citations for
842:. Hail Weston Pub Company Ltd.
118:Pub in Cambridgeshire, England
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968:Thatched buildings in England
670:. 17 May 2012. Archived from
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840:"The Royal Oak, Hail Weston"
55:"The Royal Oak, Hail Weston"
123:Human settlement in England
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438:Pub names § Royal Oak
632:. Cheffins Estate Agents.
326:For several decades, the
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371:Asset of Community Value
373:under the newly passed
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342:In November 2011, the
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644:"May Auction Results"
563:"Spotlight on events"
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318:The Royal Oak in 2009
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880:"Business Directory"
400:On 19 May 2017, the
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40:improve this article
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820:on 27 December 2018
493:on 10 November 2017
404:formally reopened.
939:52.2455°N 0.2950°W
905:on 31 October 2017
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38:Please help
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717:"Home page"
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796:Hunts Post
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392:Reopening
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80:scholar
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