Beloved UK pub to close forever on June 5 - only reopened in March
An English town will lose a pub that has been around for more than 100 years.
A respected pub in an English town will close down after reopening earlier this year. The Rolleston Arms pub in Swindon has announced it will close on June 5 due to financial pressures.
The Rolly, as locals call the beloved pub, has a great background in Swindon, having faced multiple bumps in the road throughout its 135-year history.
Earlier this year, The Rolleston reopened under new manager Matt Keeble. In March, customers were welcomed back to the pub to celebrate being back in business after a year of being closed.
But only two months on, the pub has announced its permanent closure from June 5, 2026.
Keeble said: "After a lot of thought, I’ve made the incredibly difficult decision to close The Rolly.
"I honestly don’t know where to begin. First and foremost, thank you to every single person who supported us over the last few months.
"The regulars, the musicians, the people who came down week after week, bought drinks, brought friends, played gigs, shared posts, had conversations at the bar, and helped give the place some life - you helped make this place feel special again.
"There have been some truly brilliant nights. Nights where the pub felt alive again. Nights that reminded me exactly why I took this on in the first place.
"But the reality is that, despite the support from our core crowd, we simply didn’t get enough people through the doors consistently enough to make the project financially viable."
He went on: "The long-term vision was never just the pub.
"The plan was to rebuild something bigger around live music and alternative culture in Swindon, with Level 3 becoming a huge part of that.
"But opening the club was always going to require a very significant amount of investment, and realistically, the pub needed to succeed first to prove the wider project could work.
"Without that foundation, the level of financial risk involved in moving forward with the club simply isn’t something I can justify taking on."
The news has been a tough blow to Swindon, but punters have taken to social media to express their appreciation for the pub and share exactly what it means to them.
"I used to work behind the bar when the club was called Bojangles and spent many a night there when I was younger, " said Patricia Thomas.
"Swindon is a hard crowd to please. Thanks for trying."
"It’s a sad day for Swindon. Once again, another victim of lack of support and general apathy from the community."
Keeble added: "I know places like The Rolly and Level 3 mean a lot to people. They mean a lot to me, too. That’s why this hurts so much.
"I genuinely gave this everything I had, financially, emotionally and physically, and I’m proud of what we tried to build, even though we couldn’t make it sustainable.
"For now, though, all I can really say is thank you. For giving me the opportunity, for the love, the new friends, the old friends and for all the belly laughs and sing-alongs."
