It was a pleasant surprise when a visitor to the Swan at Enford, a thatched pub tucked away in the folds of the Wiltshire countryside, found themselves being served a pint by one of the UK’s most famous actors.
“They had come in off the main road and asked if it was my pub,” said Rupert Everett, the star of films such as Another Country, My Best Friend’s Wedding and The Madness of King George.
“I lied at first and said, ‘Yes it is.’ I couldn’t resist. But I’m not the gay Jeremy Clarkson – I’m only a tiny cog in a large wheel here.”
Unlike most actors, Everett has not been working behind the bar because he has fallen on hard times. Instead, it is as part of a grand community effort to save the Swan, which faced closure until villagers stepped in and began to maintain a building that has been at the heart of the village for more than 350 years.
He also joined the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra), which fights for the future of pubs such as the Swan, and an image of him working at the pub went viral.
Everett told the Guardian he had lived in the area the Swan serves since he was a boy.
“I’ve known the pub through various incarnations,” he said. “It’s closed a couple of times and the people in our village suddenly realised we needed it for some kind of community cohesion.
“It’s a difficult time in the countryside. The farmers around us have all had a terrible harvest. Morale is slightly down. Your village pub suddenly seems like an important asset that we all feel we need to defend.”
The Swan is seeking a new professional publican after the previous one left in June. “But in the meantime, everybody in the village felt incredibly galvanised to keep the pub and the garden looking good,” Everett said. “It’s a difficult business. Beer only lasts a week – if you order too much, you’re fucked.”
Everett’s preferred drink is a beer called Pigswill, an amber-coloured tipple from Stonehenge Ales. “I’m incredibly fat so I try not to drink too much of it because once you get started, you never stop. But I’m committed to drinking non-stop to get a new publican,” he added.
The actor quoted figures from the British Beer and Pub Association, claiming that for every £3 spent in a pub, £1 goes to tax. “They take a healthy chunk of every pub’s earnings. The government could ease off on its own take. That would help.”
When the Guardian visited on Thursday, Everett was off-duty. He is busy promoting his well-received collection of stories, The American No. But the place was bustling with young and old.
Clive Bullen, one of the lead organisers of the Swan’s rescue, said the response from the community had been phenomenal. “The garden had become overgrown and inside needed a re-deck,” he said. “Up to 30 people a day were helping, working on the garden, painting inside and so on.
“We put a note out saying we needed volunteers for shift work and Rupert said he’d like to help. I took him through the training. It’s a bit of a surprise when he’s doing a shift late on a Saturday afternoon and a random person walks in.”
David Holmes, a Swan regular for more than half a century and known in the village as “Sheriff”, described how the pub was a vital lifeline for him. “I wouldn’t see anyone from week to week if I didn’t come here.”
Iris Daunt-Withers, a relative newcomer, said the pub was one of the draws of moving to Enford. “We met everyone there and came to realise this is such a wonderful place with a great sense of community,” she said.
Camra said so far in 2025, 230 pubs in the UK had been demolished or converted and lost to communities for ever. The campaign group is calling for the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to do her bit at the budget by scrapping the increase in employer national insurance contributions, and reducing business rates bills and VAT and duty on beer and cider served in pubs.
Everett said the community effort had created a celebratory feel at the pub. “In this world where we’re all increasingly detached in our own individual mad bubbles, it’s really refreshing. We’ve felt our village coming together to try to keep this pub going. It’s built energy in all of us.”
