Cheryl Caira

It has had the likes of Robert Burns and Scottish novelist John Buchan walk through its doors.

Two years ago, however, the Crook Inn, one of the oldest pubs in Scotland, was closed down with the owners hoping to turn the property into flats.

Now the small community living in Tweedsmuir, in the Borders, has secured £10,000 in lottery funding to try and save the 17th century inn - a listed building - and keep it at the heart of the village.

The Tweedsmuir Community Company, a group from the area that has fought to save the Crook since its closure, wants to buy and run the pub as a business so that local residents can continue to enjoy the benefits of a friendly local.

The lottery funding will be spent on surveying the building, with the rest added to the fund to purchase the pub.

The Scottish Government has accepted the village's right-to-buy application, and the company is now hoping for nearly £1m from the Big Lottery fund to enable it to secure the historic inn if it goes on the market.

Robert Burns was a regular at the Crook Inn, and was said to have written his poem Willie Wastle's Wife in the kitchen, which is now the bar area, in 1792. The Crook was also the haunt of John Buchan, who was inspired by the inn and the surrounding area to write his novel The Thirty Nine Steps, which was set in the Borders.

The owners of the property want to convert the pub into a house and flats, but are currently waiting for planning permission, which will be decided at an appeal hearing in Peebles next month. Scottish Borders Council previously rejected plans to convert the inn into a residential building.

Andrew Mason, vice-chairman of the Tweedsmuir Community Company, said: "The Crook Inn is considered to be the hub of our community. Everyone meets at the Crook and it's the central point of the village. The closure of the pub is tearing the heart out of the community, as we have already lost so much. We have lost our post office, school, shop and transport links over the years, so we had to take a stand.

"The community have been very vocal in their objections, as we want to keep our vibrant community. The Crook is an icon of what Tweedsmuir is. It may not be a Wallace monument, but it's still an important building, and the sooner it's taken over and restored the better.

"It's just criminal to shut this place down. Everyone in Tweedsmuir has come forward with ideas on how we can use the Crook so it benefits the community. I think it could have an incredible future."

Maureen Thornorrow, 48, who has lived in the community for 40 years, is still feeling the loss of the local pub.

She said: "The Crook has always been a part of everybody's life. I had my first job at the pub when I was 17, then I worked there full time. My 21st birthday party was held there, my wedding reception was there, and my children were christened there. The inn was like an extra family and we just miss it so much.

"There's nothing left in Tweedsmuir any more, and there's no social life. We don't know who the new people are that move into the area, as there's nowhere for us to go and meet them.

"There used to be events like music and quiz nights at the inn, but now it's just an empty building and it's so sad. It's just got such fantastic character, the old bar and all the old flagstones have been there since 1604, and the locals made it as well, it was a fantastic place to be.

"Now we have to come down to Broughton to socialise, which is six or seven miles away. Closing the inn has knocked the whole centre out of the village."

Tony Hope, 75, also a resident in Tweedsmuir, believes that losing the inn would mean losing a significant part of the village's history.

He said: "The community here have used the inn for everything for decades. It's been used for sad and joyous occasions alike, such as parties, christenings and funerals. When anything social happens in the village, it happens at the inn.

"Everything is centred around that building and it would be a great shame to lose it. It's all part of the rich tapestry of historical events that have happened in the area over the centuries. Everything seems to be disappearing here, so the fact that the community is banding together to keep the Crook Inn open may mean more people will stay in the area."

The inn, between Broughton and Moffat, started life in 1604 as a simple halt for drovers taking cattle from the Borders to markets in England.

The Crook Inn became a Presbyterian meeting house in the 17th century, and in the 1930s the inn was extended in a strict art deco style.