Ware Online Community Forum

Wagger's pub in Kibes Lane has closed down. The council have taken back the lease (landlord's happy) but not sure what is going to happen next. I'm also not sure about the Arts Centre which is part of the same building.

Wagger's has been a presence in the town since 1967, first as a club and more recently as a pub.

Thats a shame. Always sad to see a business go under.

However, it does make you wonder how it stayed open for so long. I walk past it quite a lot and there never seemed to be anyone in there.

VicarageRoader wrote:Thats a shame. Always sad to see a business go under.

However, it does make you wonder how it stayed open for so long. I walk past it quite a lot and there never seemed to be anyone in there.

Walking past and going in are two different things.
There was a function room which was used frequently but is now lost.
I was glad to see that the latest edition of Pints of View was in there but because it was busy I didn't manage to get hold of a copy.

IGS wrote:Wagger's pub in Kibes Lane has closed down. The council have taken back the lease (landlord's happy) but not sure what is going to happen next. I'm also not sure about the Arts Centre which is part of the same building.

Wagger's has been a presence in the town since 1967, first as a club and more recently as a pub.

What do you mean by "the council have taken back the lease"? Do you mean the lease came to an end and Pete Smith decided not to renew?

I'm not sure how or why this should have any bearing on Ware Arts Centre.

IGS wrote:

VicarageRoader wrote:Thats a shame. Always sad to see a business go under.

However, it does make you wonder how it stayed open for so long. I walk past it quite a lot and there never seemed to be anyone in there.

Walking past and going in are two different things.
There was a function room which was used frequently but is now lost.
I was glad to see that the latest edition of Pints of View was in there but because it was busy I didn't manage to get hold of a copy.

Pete's been trying to sell up for a couple of years and from what I have heard is that EHC want to sell off the whole block which includes the Arts Centre. What their lease involves I don't know. I was hoping that someone involved with the place may be able to throw some light on the matter. (This isn't just idle rumour).

We had hoped to hire Wagger's for a do between xmas and new year but weren't able to confirm that as they were in negotiations with a developer some time back.
Spoke at the weekend and they confirmed they would be closed by Sunday.
So it looks like it will be redeveloped.
I imagine it will make some interesting flats assuming they have to keep the shell.

Ah, so thinking ahead, amongst other equally important things, we need a new venue for the beer festival? Wodson Park?

Very sad to see Waggers go, albeit that I too couldn't see how the downstairs made it as long as it had. The function room upstairs is a fantastic facility, right in the heart of town.

One casualty of this is the Ware Guitar Club, which met monthly as an open mic event, and has supported a lot of local musicians. Kudos to Ray and Geoff, who nurtured the club for 21 (!!!) years but, quite rightly, have seen it as the right time to retire gracefully. I've certainly appreciated the opportunity to go and play and see others, right on our doorstep - and a lovely friendly atmosphere.

All this happened at short notice *just* allowing for a final meeting the week before last. Great to see the place rammed, but sad to see the end of an era.

There was the surprise announcement on the night that the Guitar Club will be taken over and moved to Hertford Corn Exchange. Great to see it continue, and hopefully will pick up some new members, but I'll certainly miss the chance to walk down on a Wednesday night...

If only Waggers could avoid turning into residential units, although I presume this is almost inevitable.

brassdoorknob wrote:Ah, so thinking ahead, amongst other equally important things, we need a new venue for the beer festival? Wodson Park?

Wodson Park, as nice as it is would be a bad choice, a bit too far out of the town centre, as alcohol is involved driving there is not an option. The drill hall would be possible choice, I would hope that whatever happens to Waggers, the Arts centre will remain as a community resource.

I suspect some people may be jumping the gun here. Ware Arts Centre have a lease on that end of the building and it still has some considerable time to run I believe.