CARHAMPTON parish council was this week hoping to find a solution to the closure of the village shop, run by Gary Thrush, a popular figure in the district, who has now retired from the business after keeping it open against the odds for nearly ten years.

The “open all hours” store, a focal point of the community, closed last week - the latest in a list of traditional rural services that have disappeared from Carhampton.

Now the village, with a population of nearly 900, has no shop or post office, the pub is soon due to close and the parish church is currently out of bounds due to dangerous masonry.

Gary, 58, who suffered a stroke two years ago, said that changes in shopping patterns, Covid restrictions, supermarket deliveries and online shopping had combined to destroy the future of small village shops which are near to urban areas.

“We worked hard to make a go of the business but all the trends were against us and sadly I’ve had to call it a day,” he said. “Takings went down two thirds on the first week of lockdown and haven’t gone up ever since.

“It took four years to make any money from the shop and for most of the time since then I’ve had to subsidise the takings and I simply couldn’t continue like that. Stress certainly contributed to my health problems. Of course I will miss all the people who came into the shop, but the situation was becoming impossible.”

Parish council chair, Cllr Brenda Maitland-Walker, said: “Carhampton and Blue Anchor have relied on the shop for very many years and the council very much hopes that there is a way that it can be retained.

“We will be contacting the owner of the premises to see if there is anything the parish council can do if he intends to keep it running as a shop.

“We will also be writing to Gary to express our thanks for all the hard work he has done for the village over the years, particularly during the Covid lockdown when he worked absolutely tirelessly to provide a lifeline for residents, delivering supplies to their homes and helping in countless other ways.”

Gary said at the time: “I don’t think I am doing anything special. I am just doing what I always do -helping people out, cracking on, and hoping for the best!”

This week, dozens of shop customers took to social media to express their dismay at the closure, remembering that Gary ran the store single-handedly seven days a week during lockdown, starting at 5am.

One wrote: “You have been the heart of the village and done an amazing job.” Others added: “It’s the end of an era. It will not be the same village anymore,” “ Thank you for everything you did.”

Carhampton lost its post office in the village stores in April last year when the office, an outreach branch from Watchet, closed suddenly due to what were described as “unforeseen circumstances.” Residents now have to travel to Dunster, Watchet or Minehead for postal services.

Recently, residents were asked to fill in a questionnaire suggesting suitable venues for a mobile pop-up Post Office including Carhampton recreation centre, and the parish council is waiting for a Post Office response.

The village pub, the Butcher’s Arms, built in 1638, is set to close on November 30 when landlords Lynn and Tony Medcalf give up the tenancy. Lynn said: “Very sadly we have put in our notice.

“I know people think we are giving up but unfortunately you can’t fight the crippling rise in utilities. So it is for this reason that we have made the hard decision to leave. We would like to thank every one of you who supported us from day one, and made us welcome. We’ll miss you all.”

The St John the Baptist parish church has been out of bounds to parishioners and bell-ringers and not been used for services since June when it was discovered that stones in one of the four pinnacles on the tower had been fractured by gales.

The rector, the Rev Caroline Ralph, said at the time: “The damage is so potentially dangerous that the pinnacle could fall through the church roof, so we have reluctantly had to close the church and rope off part of the churchyard to be on the safe side.”

“An initial survey suggested that the pinnacle will not fall any time soon but we cannot take any chances.”

Repairs are scheduled to start shortly, and in the meantime, services are being held in Carhampton village hall.