WHEN property developer Rebekah Seddon-Wickens saw the local village pub near her father’s home was up for sale, she decided to buy it and give it a new lease of life.

Now, after a three-year refurbishment project costing more than £1 million, the Jockey Inn, at Baughton, Earls Croome, Worcestershire, has reopened.

Rebekah said the property was on the market at a very good price and the original idea was to buy it as an investment and probably lease it.

“We bought it as a property investment and then the idea developed to do a refurbishment and we put so much work into it, I wanted to keep it after that,” said Rebekah, who studied architecture at university and worked on the pub’s layout and interior designs.

Much more at home with residential, commercial and investment properties, this is Rebekah’s first pub/restaurant venture. She admits: “I didn’t have a clue how it would turn out when I started.”

Although greatly extended, the exterior looks pretty much the same as before – giving no hint of the dramatic interior make-over.

Inside it is unrecognisable from its forerunner. It has been extended to create a lounge area for drinking and bar food in the pub’s former kitchen, while a completely new extension provides dining for 60 covers.

The Jockey theme greets customers as soon as they walk into the lobby, where rows of racing saddles are hung from hooks on one wall, while there is a collection of racing photographs in the lounge, a large horse and rider illustration in the main dining area, jockey graphics on the menus and the waiting staff uniform includes a blacksmith-style leather apron.

Slate floors, wooden beams and wicker as well as more modern industrial features like pendant light fittings figure in the restyled inn which is aimed at the gastro pub sector. Rebekah describes it as a bar and restaurant in the countryside.

One of the more unusual but prominent fittings in the bar area is a large glass ambient-controlled cellar displaying, from floor to ceiling, fine wines and champagnes.

Rebekah said: “Our ethos throughout has been to try and create an exceptional rural dining experience which is relaxed in atmosphere yet exudes well-executed menus delivered by a team whose passion for food and wine is infectious.

“As a team, we have worked tirelessly to create a brand new destination for people to come and enjoy dinner and drinks with friends and family.”

She plans to stay involved in the daily running of The Jockey for the first six to 12 months. “If this is a success, I will look around for another one.”

The restaurant will be serving a blend of contemporary British cuisine with a focus on simplicity and heritage.

Its Michelin trained head chef James Garth spent over 10 years at Colwall Park Hotel, while his sous chef Piotr Antkowicz joins from Ellenborough Park, near Cheltenham.

General manager Dan Taylor said the Jockey would be open from 11.30am for coffee and drinks, with lunch, afternoon tea (they are stocking the hand tied individual Flora Teas) and dinner.

“We are aiming for simple food, done well. We are also using sustainably sourced ingredients,” said Dan. Among those ingredients are salmon from the Rivers Severn and Wye.

Dan added that Sunday lunch prices are expected to range from £12 for a single course to £20 for three courses.