A FORMER pub which was once renowned for the quality of its food has opened its doors to the public once again as an art studio.

The Three Crowns Inn at Ullingswick closed in 2011 and over the last three years, new owners, Ruth and Roger Ellis, have been carrying out extensive renovation works at the grade-II listed building.

The couple bought it after returning home to the UK from the Caribbean where they had lived and worked for more than 25 years, having established a successful business in creating illustrated maps.

And they're now ready to welcome people once again to 'The Crowns' – although there is a slightly different type of activity on offer.

Mrs Ellis said: "We had a studio about one mile down the road in Felton and needed a bigger premises and when we saw this closed pub we could just see it was really going to work for us and on top of that, we could also do arts events.

"A lot of the inside hasn't changed and we worked very closely with conservation and have been restoring and repairing a lot of the timber."

The pub's car park was also set to be a challenge but with the help of Chelsea gold medal winner, Paul Hervey-Brookes, it is now entirely transformed.

The couple met Mr Hervey-Brookes at a meeting of Stoke Lacy Garden Club and, after asking him for pointers, he decided to get involved in creating a designer garden.

The couple welcomed visitors to their first 'draw in a day' event last week and are now gearing up for an art show which is set to take place on August 8.

It'll feature six Herefordshire artists and donations received for refreshments at the free event will help towards the restoration of Felton Church.

More courses are also soon to be on offer to the public, run by qualified teacher and artist Mr Ellis, and the couple are hoping to continue to add to the range of skills they can help people develop.

Visit roger-ellis.com/pages/courses.html for a full list of courses and upcoming events.