EBT x The Bevy
The Bevy is truly ‘more than just a pub’. A much-needed community venue, providing an important meeting place for local people, and offering something for everyone, The Bevy is the UK’s first and STILL the only community pub on a housing estate.
At East Brighton Trust we are proud of the part we have played in the story of The Bevy. Following the original pub's closure in 2010, East Brighton Trust bought the building and on Friday 12th December 2014 The Bevy finally re-opened after 4 years of hard work.
It’s now a thriving local business in the heart of the Moulsecoomb estate providing jobs and acting as an essential community hub for people in the area. As well as being a key part of our property portfolio, The Bevy also holds a special place in our hearts and is the most exciting project we’ve been involved in to-date.
Back in 2014, the campaign to reopen The Bevy involved more than 700 people buying ‘community shares’ in the pub and this, alongside numerous fundraising events, grants and loans raised the rest of the funds needed to refurbish the interior.
East Brighton Trust contributed £20,000 towards this and we have continued to provide additional financial support ever since, primarily by awarding a grant each year to offset the cost of the annual rent, thereby helping The Bevy to deliver on its aims as a community hub.
Other ways we’ve been able to support the pub over the years have included small grants to many of the groups that use The Bevy as a base, a seed fund to support the smallest groups operating out of the pub, providing emergency funding for Bevy meals on wheels during the pandemic, mentoring students at BACA to make a series of films about The Bevy, and of course having held lots of events and meetings at the pub over the years to get people through the door and cash into the till.
Chris Llewellyn, secretary of The Bevy summarized how vital the EBT support for The Bevy is:
“Without East Brighton Trust The Bevy would not exist. EBT was able to buy the property when it was being sold off by the previous landlord and stop it being turned into flats. 700+ local shareholders were then able to fund the conversion back into the pub we have today. Our partnership with EBT helps us make a big impact across Moulsecoomb and Bevendean and more widely! If there were more EBT’s around the country then The Bevy wouldn’t be the only community owned pub on a housing estate.”
We’re honoured to have been such a key part of the story so far and look forward to working in partnership with The Bevy for many more years to come.
"Without East Brighton Trust The Bevy would not exist"
Timeline
1937 - The Bevendean Hotel originally opens
2010 – The pub is closed down by police
2010 – The Bevy is purchased by EBT
2012 - Shareholder Campaign launches
2014 – 12th December The Bevy reopens
2017 – The Bevy celebrates 80 years
2017 - The Bevy is featured in a talk about community business at the Meaning Conference
2017 - Brains at The Bevy is highly commended in the Universities Association for Lifelong Learning 2017 awards
2018 - The Bevy is featured in The Guardian and praised for bringing the community together
2020 – When the pandemic hits, the Bevy quickly begins delivering meals on wheels to dozens of vulnerable people in the area.
2020 – Pub receives a “virtual” Royal visit from then Duchess of Cornwall as part of the NACC Meals on Wheels week
2021 - The Bevy features in the Venice Biennale
2021 – The Bevy teams up with St John’s College to offer a catering traineeship for young people with learning difficulties.
2021- The Bevy wins the NACC award for Meals on Wheels services after delivering 15,000 meals
2022 - The Bevy volunteers are recognised as Covid Heroes by the Mayor of Brighton & Hove
2022 – The Bevy is showcased “On the map” on BBC South East Today
2022 - A film about The Bevy is featured in The Guardian
