A HISTORIC town pub which suddenly closed nearly three years ago is going up for auction after failing to sell, with a guide price of less than a third what was asked in 2022.

Monmouth's Queen's Head Inn, where Oliver Cromwell was reputedly shot at by a disaffected Royalist in May 1648, has been closed since shutting overnight just before Christmas 2023, with staff then messaged by text that they were out of a job.

That came six weeks after the Saint James Street pub had ended 18 years of live music on Wednesday and Sunday nights, which had been run with Music in Monmouth, and had attracted top class musicians.

Previously marketed in 2022 for £520,000 before being leased and then closed again, it was offered for sale again at the start of this year for under half the price, at £250,000 with freehold.

But remaining unsold, the Grade II-listed 16th century Tudor-beamed premises with guest rooms is now going under the hammer next month, with a guide price of just £150,000.

Historic pub closed without warning at the end of 2023

No information was provided about the shutting of the Queen’s in December 2023, which rocked staff and regulars, and came just days after The Club – the former town Conservative Club in nearby Whitecross Street – also closed its doors, with neither venue reopening since.

The latter was bought anonymously for £322,000 some 18 months ago from the Association of Conservative Clubs, who had taken over the Grade II-listed building from the former club trustees.

But the parking area is filled with weeds and the building looking in some state of disrepair, with no sign of reopening or redevelopment, or news of any plans for it.

The Club has been closed for nearly three years
The Club has been closed for nearly three years (Nick Hartland)

Its closure came two years on from a major upgrade and reopening as ‘The Club’, despite having become a popular venue featuring big screens for watching sport and other events.

Lambert Smith Hampton, who are handling the online auction of the Queen's Head on December 9 (1pm-2pm), say: "The property comprises a 16th century detached three storey Grade II-listed former public house, retaining a wealth of character and period features throughout.

"Internally, the ground floor provides the principal trading areas, comprising two bar areas, a restaurant/dining room, breakfast room, commercial kitchen and office accommodation, together with a basement cellar.

"The upper floors provide owners' accommodation comprising 2/3 bedrooms, in addition to six en-suite guest letting bedrooms, extending to approximately 732 sq m (7,879 sq ft)."

Several pubs lost to the town

At the time of Queen’s Head and Club’s closures, the hospitality sector was facing soaring winter energy prices amid the then Tory Government’s removal of the price cap.

Monmouth has also lost other pubs in recent years, including the Vine Tree, the Three Horseshoes and last year The Castle, which shut following a dispute over a ‘75 per cent rent hike’ and a council demand for a kitchen extractor fan following a complaint from a new neighbour.

More details of the Queens Head auction are available at propertyauctions.lsh.co.uk