Community Tea Room & Shop – ‘The Antrobus Loaf’
The Antrobus Village Hall’s new Village Tea Room and Shop, known as ‘The Antrobus Loaf’, was officially opened on Wednesday 9th September by Village Hall Chairperson Heather Sutton and four pupils from St. Marks Antrobus C of E Primary School. This was the culmination of a ‘long slog’ through the planning process (7 years) and a remarkable fund raising effort and a construction phase completed in 7 months!
The venue continues to be operated by local volunteers (more in our bigger home) and offers locally roasted coffee, homemade cakes daily and Thursday specials such as quiches and breads. This provides a great space for our locals who meet here most days together with other groups and visitors. As we bed our new facility in, more local groups will be now able make use of this wonderful community hub facility which is now available to be hired see our facilities page. Currently ‘The Antrobus Loaf’ is open from 09:00 – 12:30 every day.
Before Work Started – taken August 2025
First foundations being laid December 2025
Ongoing Construction January 2026
Great progress February 2026
More pictures to come…..
History of The Antrobus Community Tea Room and Shop
1) ‘The Van’ 2018 – 2026
For 15 years our Antrobus Village Shop had been run successfully by a dedicated team of volunteers but in May 2018 it was served notice to move out of its premises (part of a house on Knutsford Road) due to the sale of the property by the end of June that year.
This sent the villagers into overdrive to find a solution to a big problem, our village shop is in the heart of the village and it has always been a central meeting place for all.
In fact, many a problem has been talked through in our little shop and many of our children had their first work experience there, not to mention those of us who have sent our husbands on a mercy mission for that urgent pack of flour or packet of butter when half way through a recipe we realise that the cupboard is bare!
There was no way we could allow this valuable part of our village life to end, so a meeting was called in the village school and a steering group was formed. The outcome is that The Village Hall bought an old static caravan and sited it on the soakaway at the end of The Village Hall car park and would become Landlord to a future and continuing village shop.
For the next few weeks, we had a team of hard workers transforming it! Each and every day we have local residents including farmers, electricians and plumbers all donating their time and skills, either learnt or new found. We have had an endless supply of tea makers popping in to keep the troops happy as well as an endless supply of homemade cakes. An absolutely superb show of how community life can make things happen.
As well as a Community Shop we decided to also have a Tea Room with the idea of it being a great meeting place for villagers and their visitors to congregate in. We have the large village field and playground alongside the static caravan, so it is perfect for the young and not so young.
The Tea Room and Shop opened on September 18th 2018 as was a great success
serving an array of homemade cakes, tea, coffee and cold drinks as well as providing
essential provisions.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, ‘The Van’ as it affectionally became known as. stayed open being run by a core of essential worker volunteers (see picture below). It provided a vital lifeline to the locals of Antrobus supplying vital food items to those who were unable leave their ‘bubble’ and travel around under the movement restrictions in place during that time.
The ‘Van’ was always going to be a temporary facility and plans were started to create a more permanent building which eventually became ‘The Antrobus Loaf’ Community Tearoom and Shop which opened in September 2026.
2) The Antrobus Village Shop and Post Office (2003 – 2018)
The family run Antrobus Village Shop was located in a premises that was part of a house on Knutsford Road and opposite School lane and shared that space together with the Post Office. In 2003 the shop closed and the Post Office was also under threat of closure unless a permanent Postmaster/Postmistress could be found.
The Parish Council organised two public meetings which were well attended and the idea of a community project was muted. Consultation with the Rural Shops Alliance helped the project begin and a steering committee of eight local residents was formed. An offer to everyone in The Village to purchase £10 shares to help with fund raising took place and with this commitment the ‘Antrobus Community Shop Association’ was formed to manage the running of the shop.
With some considerable effort, a grant was obtained to bolster funds for stock and running costs but we still did not have a Post Master/Mistress. Quite unexpectedly, Maggie Pinfold from a neighbouring village declared an interest and applied for the position for which she was successful. The next incarnation of the Antrobus Shop and Post Office was ready to go!
For 15 years until May 2018, our Antrobus Village Shop was run successfully by a dedicated team of volunteers. However, at that time it was served notice to move out of its premises due to the sale of the house by the end of June that year. That was the signal for another great Antrobus Community team effort and plan. It was to move the shop into a static caravan bought and hosted by The Antrobus Village Hall (See item above – 1) ‘The Van’ 2018 – 2026).
(The Antrobus Community Tea Room and Shop is run by ‘The Antrobus Community Shop Association Ltd.’ (ACSA) an organisation registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)).
