THE only pub in a village near York remains shut almost a year after it closed.

The Tankard Inn at Rufforth closed at Easter last year as owners Samuel Smiths Brewery are looking for a new manager to run it.

Adverts were placed on Gumtree and LinkedIn last year looking for a couple to live-in and run the Tankard which is a 1930s pub with two small bars, a lounge and tap room, and real fires. The pub also has a car park, garden and orchard.

On Twitter Liz Raspa said the pub had recently undergone a refurbishment.

She said: "It's such a shame seeing pubs in other villages thriving while our sits empty. Such a waste."

A brewery spokesman was unavailable for comment when approached by The Press about the continued closure.

Just before Christmas The Blacksmiths Arms at Skelton was shut for about six months, and City of York Council listed it as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) in September to help protect it from re-development.

As The Press reported today, how notices have been posted in the windows and on the door of the historic York Arms in High Petergate, near York Minster.

They state: “Take Note: these premises/land have been taken in possession by the landlord under the authority of a High Court writ.”

The York Arms closed down suddenly last July - just one of several Samuel Smith’s Brewery pubs in the York area which shut in 2019 and have so far failed to reopen, causing consternation amongst customers and local community leaders.

The pub, which is alongside the A19 near York, reopened under new landlord Will Garnett and landlady Lucy Scott after a major revamp including the stripping of white rendering on external walls to expose original brickwork.

Meanwhile, there is no sign of customers being welcomed back to three other Samuel Smith's pubs in York and nearby villages which have all closed down in the past year.

The landmark Buckles Inn on the A64 between Tadcaster and York, The Brown Cow, in Hope Street off Walmgate, and the Agar Arms in Warthill, all remain closed with no apparent sign of any imminent reopening.