Historic 400-year-old pub saved from closure after its boomer landlords raised £650k to keep it open with viral Gen-Z slang TikTok finally re-opens
The community of Langton Herring in Dorset raised £650,000 to buy The Elm Tree Inn with the help of a Gen Z-slang video that went viral.
Their social media efforts reached over a million people worldwide and led to money coming in from the US, Australia and Germany.
The pub, where Wallis was billeted while he tested out his ingenious bombs on the nearby Fleet ahead of the Dambusters raid in World War Two, closed in 2023.
But villagers have tirelessly worked over the last 18 months to raise the money needed to be able to buy it for the community.
The Friends of the Elm Tree offered people the chance to buy shares in the pub but when their fundraising efforts stalled at the halfway mark they turned to social media to drum up more support.
Their TikTok videos featured 'Boomers' or older villagers, talking about their pub using Generation Z language – including rizz, [charm or style], delulu [delusional] and 'spill the tea' [share the gossip].
The group achieved millions of views and thousands of pounds in donations from strangers around the world, and topped up their funds with some loans, which they hope to repay quickly.
They bought the pub for £550,000 and carried out a refurbishment before reopening today.
Some of the first customers were a couple from America who pledged money after seeing the TikTok campaign.
Katherine and James Parsons are the new tenant landlord and landlady, brought in by the campaign group to run the pub.
They say the focus will be on local produce and being affordable and sustainable.
Katherine said: 'One thing they [the Friends group] were very keen for was making it affordable so we will be offering pub classics and everything we do is going to be with a local twist, I wouldn't let the chefs do anything else.
'If people want to come in for a simple pie and a pint, or passing by on bicycle or walking through and just coming in for a quick refreshment, ut's available for all, it's not just for locals.'
The TikTok video, which features the boomers of the village using expressions like 'slay', 'GOAT' and 'salty', got 1.9m views,
A second video with more references like 'delulu' and 'rizz' racked up another 2.4m views.
Donations were received from all over the world, including Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka, and the group were overwhelmed with the support.
The historic pub shut after more than 300 years of trading with the owners blaming a 'decline in trade' and a 'challenging operating environment'.
The friends group say their next challenge is coming up with ways to reduce overheads so the pub does not fall into hardship again.
Martin Pearson, from the Friends of The Elm Tree, said: 'We are completely thankful, surprised and really pleased both with the local support we have had and the amazing support from people who have never been here.
'We had over 3,000 donations from random people with no connection to the pub or area and about 40 per cent of those have come from the States so I'm sure we will get the odd American popping in.
'And for the villagers who haven't had a pub for nearly two years, so we are expecting a lot of interest.
'The pub was in fairly reasonable condition but it had been empty for 18 months so it needed to be cleaned up, equipment updated and new garden furniture bought.
'A big part of the process was finding the right people to come in and run the pub, that fitted with the vision we had.'
As well as Barnes Wallis, Winston Churchill also visited the pub during a secret visit to the Fleet in the Second World War.
The pub also has links to a Cold War spy ring, when it was rumoured to be a secret rendezvous point for Russian spies.
Harry Houghton and his girlfriend Ethel Gee worked for the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment on nearby Portland and would wait for calls from their KGB controller at the Elm Tree.
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