A family has taken over a grade II-listed pub that dates back to the 1850s, with plans for live music and a new menu.

The Railway Hotel in Faversham underwent a refurbishment in July and re-opened on August 18 with publicans Donna and David Davis behind the bar.

New leaseholder of the Shepherd Neame tavern Mr Davis said: “The Railway Hotel is such a beautiful building in the heart of Faversham, and we could see it had a huge amount of potential.

“We were delighted when the brewery gave us the go-ahead to take it on.”

It will be a family affair in terms of staff, as their son Ollie, 18, will be serving pints and food, while soon-to-be daughter-in-law Sarah Beeney, engaged to their other child Ben, has taken on the role of Bar Manager.

Sixteen-year-old son Sam is a drummer in the local band Penny Spent, so he will also be making his contribution by opening the venues’s Hop Festival entertainment this weekend with a performance on September 1.

While Mr and Mrs Davis have never run a boozer before, they both own businesses in Kent.

Mr Davis, 44, said: “I worked in pubs in Surrey at the end of the 1990s, and Donna also worked on the bar at the old Wembley Stadium during that time, so we both have hospitality experience.

“I own a garage in Margate and Donna’s been running a nursery in Westgate-in-Sea for the past seven years, but about three years ago we began thinking of ways in which we could come together with our boys to build a family business, and an Inn seemed ideal.”

The restaurant is currently closed while work is done on the kitchen, but food will be available soon, with the introduction of a new menu of traditional pub classics and light bites.

Mr Davis added: “We have a long road ahead, but we are pleased at what we have achieved so far.

“We are really looking forward to the Hop Festival this weekend.

“We have a full line-up of music planned, with 13 bands over the three days, and we also have more than a dozen family members and friends ready to help out during what we hope will be a very busy weekend.

“It’s definitely the hardest thing that we have ever done, but we are really enjoying the challenge, and are incredibly excited about creating a family business together in such a unique, characterful pub.”