So far as Ind Coope are concerned, the Kings Arms, in Church Street, Rickmansworth, is dead. But outraged locals are still fighting to keep their pub open.

Over 300 of them are sending a petition to the giant Allied Breweries, who control Ind Coope, deploring the decision to close the pub on April 24.

“What they are trying to do is get three large hyper-pubs in Rickmansworth and force out the smaller ones,” said Mr Jim Sheridan, 31, who organised the petition. “The Kings Arms, thankfully, has kept its village pub character over the years and is where one can have a quiet game of darts without the constant blare of the jukebox or the crack of pool tables attributed to so many pubs these days.”

Ind Coope regard the pub as lacking space and amenities, and decided to spend their money rejuvenating The Feathers, also in Church Street.

[From the Watford Observer of April 8, 1977]

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