Burnham and Dengie Nub News aims to be supportive to EVERY element of the community from business and shops to people and charities and clubs and sports organisations.

Everyone is finding it tough at the moment and wants life to get back to normal.

We will be profiling some of these local businesses and groups regularly over coming weeks in our UP CLOSE IN BURNHAM & DENGIE features in the hope that we can be a supportive springboard for your full return to life and business as usual.

Today we feature an interview with Raymond and Lorna Hart, the brand new publicans at the Victoria Inn at Burnham-on-Crouch.

A couple who suddenly discovered they both had the same dream of owning a pub have had to wait and work patiently through the pandemic to make it happen – and now the roadmap out of lockdown will see them open the refurbished Victoria Inn.

It was back in 2019 while viewing a house in Tillingham that Raymond and Lorna Hart came across the shared dream that neither of them knew the other one had.

''I'm the daughter of a publican," Lorna explains, "and spent most of my childhood in pubs so buying a pub was always something I had thought about.''

However, what she didn't know was that her husband of two years, Ray, had always dreamed of running his own pub, too.

He adds: ''It was a throw away comment that Lorna made while we were sitting outside a beautiful pub in Tillingham. We had just looked at a house and were discussing the long commute we would both have to go to work when Lorna said, 'what we should do is buy a pub instead of a house then we would not need to commute.'"

That was all the couple needed to get them started and after a few months of planning they started their search.

But then the pandemic struck.

Lorna explains: ''We did put everything on hold for a couple of months but then when The Victoria Inn became available we just had to go for it.

"This is our ideal location - we love Burnham-On-Crouch and the brewery Gray and Sons are in our view the best brewery to work with.

"People thought we were crazy buying into this industry when it is so uncertain but in actual fact it has given us time to refurbish the pub and really make it our own.''

Raymond has given up his old career as a print finisher and is now working full-time on getting The Victoria Inn open, while Lorna has kept her job as a radio station manager in Romford where she runs Time 107.5 FM.

Raymond says: "It is very different around here to Romford where we were living and the community have welcomed us with open arms, so it's been really amazing and I don't miss anything about my old life - well, except football every Saturday I'm a massive Leyton Orient fan, but once we get settled Lorna has promised to give me Saturdays off!"

Both bars of The Victoria Inn have had a complete makeover and now look modern yet remain cosy. The old and new have been brought together by keeping some of the pub's history alive and recycling some of the old furniture.

Black and white photos of previous landlords and customers hang in the salon bar and the old, carpeted floor has been removed to reveal traditional parquet flooring that has been lovingly restored.

"I nearly gave up with the floor," Ray says, "I really didn't think I would ever get it clean but now it looks fantastic, and I'm so pleased we decided to restore it rather than just cover it up again."

The pub has played a long role in local history and can be traced back as far as 1871, when it was run by a David Ham - but before becoming a public house it is rumoured to have been a maternity hospital!

Lorna says: "We really do want to research more of its history so I'm looking forward to meeting all the locals and finding out what I can about the building and its former occupants."

Pictures on the wall depict one of the former landlords - a Mr Neil and his potman Len Clark. Also pictured you will see Fred Finchman and Bill Bosey, who was a foreman of Burnham's council workforce.

The beer garden has also been spruced up with new seating and umbrellas - and the Victoria Inn will be opening it on 12th April.

Raymond and Lorna are hoping to be fully open with food and entertainment by 21st June in line with the government's roadmap.

Ray wants customers to stay safe and tells Nub News: "New guidelines have to be followed or we will be in danger of closing again, so everyone has to check in on the NHS app - not just one person per table, it has to be everyone now.

"Customers also need to wear face masks when standing and stick to their own groups, as even outside Covid can spread - so we will be doing everything we can to keep our staff and customers safe".

You can keep right up to date with everything happening at the Victoria Inn at the pub's Facebook page, which you can find using the link here.