A historic pub in St John’s has been reborn as a community shop to provide a lifeline for residents.

Having been forced to call last orders at the Tynwald Inn pub, tenants Robin and Jana Watterson have switched the tables and bar stools for shelves and news stands.

The Tynwald Inn Shop is now stocking milk, bread, eggs, potatoes and other essentials and offering daily deliveries to the community.

Virtually every amenity in St John’s has been transformed in the last few weeks. The planned closure of the village shop and sub-post office on March 21 was just the beginning: within days, newly-announced coronavirus restrictions threatened to leave the village with no shop, post office, restaurants or pub.

For Mr and Mrs Watterson, who have been the licensed tenants of the Tynwald Inn for the last seven years, the decision to retool the business came early.

’The situation with the virus was already heating up and we could see where it was heading,’ Mrs Watterson told the Independent. ’We immediately thought ’’we’re going to have to open a shop, aren’t we?’’ Because if we don’t there won’t be a shop in the village.’

The Tynwald Inn has been the only pub in St John’s since the closure of the Farmers Arms almost a decade ago. The free house has been operating almost continuously since 1897 - until finally forced to close its doors by the coronavirus.

With the support of the building’s owners David Marty and Elaine Downey, Mr and Mrs Watterson contacted the planning authorities to quickly adapt the business.

’The inspiration came from our landlord,’ explained Mr Watterson. ’David said that the farming community looks after each other in times of need, and all we’re doing is trying to provide a small part of that.’

After a couple of emails they were granted permission to change the use of the building for three months, with the option to extend further should the current restrictions continue.

Mrs Watterson said:’It means that the village can continue in a way that is as normal as possible. It’s strange because the people we used to see on a Friday and Saturday evening, having a drink and a laugh in the pub, are now buying a pint of milk on a Monday morning.’

The Tynwald Inn Shop is open 8am to 7pm Monday to Saturday and 9am to midday on Sundays, with daily deliveries in and around St John’s.