A HISTORIC town centre pub which closed during the summer at short notice is reopening today (Friday).

The Unicorn in Belle Vue Terrace has been closed since the start of August while owner Enterprise Inns looks for a new tenant.

This week Malvern man Mark Stimson said he will be reopening the pub at 5pm, and hopes the regulars from before will come flocking back.

He said: “I’m a good friend of Dave and Sue Warrener, who ran it before it closed, and I intend to run it as they ran it, with an emphasis on a good family-friendly pub, with good food, pool and darts, and live music. All are welcome and I hope people will support us.”

Mr Stimson, aged 44, is no stranger to pub management, having run the Lamb Inn, West Malvern, before its closure several years ago.

He will be running the Unicorn with the help of his son Luke, 19, who is currently a carpenter but who is looking forward to gaining experience in the licensed trade.

Enterprise Inns, which owns the pub, told the Gazette in August that the pub shut after Mr and Mrs Warrener left to pursue other interests. The Unicorn is one of the oldest buildings in the town centre, dating from about 1450, and it has served as a coaching inn for travellers.

Narnia author C S Lewis used to visit when he came to Malvern to walk on the hills with literary friends, and his patronage is commemorated with one of Malvern Civic Society’s blue plaques.