Our Roots:
Many pubs have a history, but the Cornwood Inn has more than that - it has a story. The Cornwood Inn is 100% owned by the community - saved in 2020 and given a new life, building on old roots. It's been quite a journey...
A traditional Devon village pub situated at the south-western edge of Dartmoor National Park, on a major route for people travelling to and from the walks, cycle rou
tes and beauty spots of Dartmoor, the first record of a pub on the site of the Cornwood Inn dates back to 1841 (when it was called the Tavistock Inn) - though it is believed there has been an inn on the site for even longer than that. Back in 1841 the pub was run by a James Dodderidge and his wife, and the landlord was William Mackworth Praed of Delamore, great-great-grandfather of the current owner of neighbouring Delamore Estate. The pub had become the Cornwood Inn by 1861 and has been called that ever since. A Friendly Future: In September 2019 the Cornwood Inn was bought from major "Pubco" Ei plc (formerly known as "Enterprise Inns") by a band of community volunteers called Cornwood Inn Action Group. To secure the longer-term future of the pub, more funding was raised by converting Cornwood Inn Action Group into a community benefit society and then selling community shares. The share offer - featured in local publications as well as the Telegraph and on the BBC - was hugely successful, attracting many local investors and even some from France, the US and New Zealand; people keen to save a traditional Dartmoor pub and have a say in its future. All of this has so many benefits for guests of the Cornwood Inn:
We're a freehouse - we can stock what our guests want, offering a wide and changing choice of the finest drinks. We put people before profits. Any surplus we do make is first of all invested in community initiatives, then returned to our community investors - so you can drink excellent beer and do good at the same time! We're in it for the long haul - no more tenants of a big Pubco, struggling to meet their financial targets; instead, we have a new pub manager Tina Forbes who lives locally and is excited about the pub's future, and have the backing of owners who love the pub.
So pay us a visit - and maybe you'll fall in love with the Cornwood Inn too!
