A historic Devon pub is set to reopen under new custodians this month.
The Swan, Bampton’s oldest pub and a fixture of the Estrella Top 50 Gastropubs list, will reopen on September 14 and start serving dinner on September 16.
The Swan, which has stood on Station Road since 1450, shut its doors in 2023 much to the dismay of its regular pub punters.
But now, the new custodian Jane McCallum will bring the beloved spot back to life.
Jane McCallum arrived in Devon from Prague eleven years ago with a four point plan: meet a chef, marry a chef, become a chef, open a place together.
She met Luke in 2015 and married him in 2016, trained as a chef in Wales, and has spent the years since in kitchens including the Blue Hill, New York City, USA and The Whitebrook in Wales. Opening The Swan is the fourth box, finally ticked.
Jane said: "I wrote the plan down eleven years ago, and opening the doors to Bampton this week is the culmination of the journey,"
"This town has looked after the pub for nearly six hundred years. Our plan is to look after Bampton in return: feed people properly and keep the door open to everyone who has always loved The Swan."
She arrives with a team built on old friendships. Head chef Ryan Truscott and Jane met at Winslade Manor in 2021, where pub manager Jack Hambly joined the same team later that year, and the cocktail and mocktail list is the work of long time colleague Tom Ryan.
The building remains in the hands of Andrew and Simon Dale-Harris.
The Swan has stood on Station Road since 1450, when it was built to house the stonemasons enlarging St Michael's church next door; the Master Mason's lookout window is still in the wall in his ‘office’ (ask to see it!).
The new team are reopening the pub as The Makers' Inn, a nod to the region's makers and craftspeople: menus that name the farms, drinks made in Devon, local art and crafts in the interior, three rooms above the bar, and a calendar of events from the community that runs from Bampton's 768-year-old Charter Fair in October to a candlelit 1450 Night each January.
Head chef Ryan Truscott said: "Every dish will carry the name of the farm it came from.
"The beef is Red Ruby from Local herds, the bread comes out of our own oven, and if we can't say who made it, it isn't on the menu."
The kitchen serves Thursday to Sunday, and Sunday roasts are expected to sell out.
Locals will get a first look as the opening week begin with an invitation night for the town before the doors open to everyone.
If you are interested in making a bookings, call 01398 694 695 or email [email protected].
Bampton’s Oldest Pub The Swan Reopens Under New Management