The Foxley Hatch in Purley, one of the last remaining Wetherspoon pubs in Croydon, will have its last day of trading on Sunday, December 3, the company has confirmed to Inside Croydon.
Going soon: the Foxley Hatch in Purley
The Foxley Hatch was put up for sale just over a year ago, shortly after Wetherspoon had called last orders for a final time at its Skylark pub in South Croydon and the Milan Bar in the town centre.
The Skylark and the Milan Bar closed in March and February 2022, respectively, and have remained shut ever since.
Recent figures suggest that pubs in London are closing at a rate of two every day, prompted by the cost of living crisis, as punters have less disposable income, rising prices and property costs, and high levels of VAT and duty.
The Foxley Hatch was one of more than 30 pubs that Wetherspoon put up for sale in October 2022. There have been suggestions from regulars that a buyer has now been found, and it will be taken over in due course by a “micro pub”, although that is unconfirmed.
JD Wetherspoon operates around 800 pubs in the UK and Ireland, and said that the closures announced in 2022 were a “commercial decision”. More than half of their pubs slated for closure are in London and the south-east.
“The staff here work ever so hard, and the place has always seemed busy,” said one Hatch regular. “But then, from what we heard, the Skylark did decent business, too, and they closed that.”
Petitions gathered with more than a thousand signatures, separately for both the Skylark and Foxley Hatch, came to nothing. Foxley Hatch staff will be offered work at other Wetherspoon pubs.
Wetherspoon’s remaining pubs in Croydon include The George in the town centre, the Sir Julian Huxley in Selsdon, and The Moon Under Water in Norbury.
Confirming the December 3 closure date for the Foxley Hatch, Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said, “We would like to thank all of the staff and customers at the Foxley Hatch who have made it such a wonderful pub.
“We appreciate our staff’s dedication and hard work and our customers’ loyalty.”
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