VILLAGERS united to officially open their local pub in flaming style last week.
A flame from the Tolpuddle Fire at Worthy Farm, home of the Glastonbury Festival in Pilton, was transferred to The Crown in the village, which has recently re-opened.
New landlords Owain Powell and Rowena Draper were on hand, along with festival founder Michael Eavis, as villagers gathered to mark the occasion.
Led by a piper, after lighting flares at the fire in The Wood at Worthy, the procession made its way to the centre of the village and the garden of The Crown, where the flame was transferred.
Speaking as the group got underway, Mr Eavis said the pub was a vital part of the village.
“Thank you to Rowena and Owain for taking it on,” he said.
The Crown boasts a festival-themed garden and is set to undergo a further refurbishment inside later in the year.
The Tolpuddle Fire, in The Wood area of the festival site, burns 24 hours a day in honour of the Tolpuddle Martyrs; a group of farm labourers who protested plans to cut the wages of workers in the 1830s.
Their conviction over the protests prompted protests from the agricultural community, including relatives of Worthy farmer Michael Eavis, with the group later pardoned.
Pictures by Paul Jones
PIPING HOT: A piper led the procession from the Tolpuddle Fire at Worthy Farm to The Crown in Pilton
REST UP: After making it to the beer garden at The Crown in Pilton
CONGRATULATIONS!: Michael Eavis with Crown landlady, Rowena Draper
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