Centuries-old village pub in Cornwall asked to change name by Vogue magazine
Owners Condé Nast Publications have now admitted they made a mistake
Last updated 17th May 2022
A village pub in Cornwall has been asked to change its name by a famous fashion magazine.
The Star Inn at Vogue first received a letter in March 2022 and thought it was a joke from one of the locals in the village, before realising it was an official letter from magazine company Condé Nast.
Mark Graham, the landlord of the pub located near Redruth, said: "I was surprised. A while ago I opened a letter from a company named Condé Nast, I'd never heard of it. When I first read it, took me quite a bit back".
"I thought it was one of the locals having a bit of a practical joke on me".
"I did check it all through. It is real, they want to stop me from using the word Vogue. Their letter says their company was the proprietor of the Vogue mark. They were concerned that there would be problems with the general public connecting this Vogue magazine with a pub in Cornwall".
The official letter from the publishing company that owns Vogue magazine reads:
Mark told us the pub, which he and his wife run, has been around for just almost 200 years and in the hamlet of Vogue for many more.
His response to the company's first letter began: "Whilst I found your letter interesting on the one hand, I also found it hilariously funny on the other".
He later wrote that when asked to change the name of the pub, it was a "categoric NO".
The Star Inn has since had a response from Condé Nast Publications, admitting they made a mistake and wishing them a "happy summer".
Part of the letter, received after the landlord replied, states: "We're grateful for your response and to learn more about your business in this beautiful part of our country.
"I'm sure you will appreciate why we regularly monitor use of the name VOGUE, including at Companies House (which is how we were alerted to your company name).
"However you are quite correct to note that further research by our team would have identified that we did not need to send such a letter on this occasion".