Tony Hadley backs £750,000 bid to save The Rose & Thistle
tony hadley has backed a £750,000 campaign to reopen The Rose & Thistle in Haddenham, near Thame, and is urging people to buy shares in the rescue effort. The singer and former Spandau Ballet frontman said he “wholeheartedly” supports the village push to get the pub back open.
The Rose & Thistle Reborn initiative had already drawn over £65,000 by the time Hadley stepped in. That leaves the community benefit society running the effort, Haddenham Community Public House Limited, with most of the target still to find if it wants to bring the pub back to life.
Haddenham share drive
The campaign is being run through a Community Benefit Society, and prospective investors can buy shares through the crowdfunding platform. That structure makes the funding push a community ownership play, not a standard pub sale, with local backers financing the reopening rather than waiting on a single buyer.
Hadley’s support adds a familiar name to a rescue effort already trying to convert village loyalty into cash. He said, “I am wholeheartedly, absolutely supporting the community of Haddenham in trying to get The Rose & Thistle back open again.”
Hadley’s pub connection
Hadley also said, “It’s a fantastic little pub – I have been there many times in the past.” His comments tie the campaign to a real personal link, not just a general endorsement, which gives the appeal a credibility that simple promotional copy rarely has.
He added, “We have to preserve our village and small-town pubs.” The line fits the way the campaign describes The Rose & Thistle: as an iconic pub in the heart of Haddenham’s conservation area, by the village green and opposite St Mary’s Church.
£65,000 still leaves a gap
The £750,000 target is the hard number now shaping the effort, and the more than £65,000 already raised shows the campaign has traction without yet getting close to the finish line. The Campaign for Real Ale’s Oxford branch has also drawn attention to the restoration effort, widening the pool of potential supporters beyond the immediate village.
For anyone deciding whether to get involved, the practical step is simple: the campaign is selling shares, and the money goes directly into the attempt to bring The Rose & Thistle back into use. Hadley’s intervention does not close the gap, but it does give the fundraising pitch a higher-profile push at the point when the campaign still needs a far larger lift.
