The Rising Sun is a classic English village pub with its stone construction and open fireplace. It is a large, double-fronted building with a bar and snug downstairs and accommodation above. At the front, there is a large garden area which is ideal for taking in the sun on warm days.

The Rising Sun has offered a range of cask beers and draught lagers, wines, spirits, cider and soft drinks with the kitchen offering a selection of snacks and prepared meals for lunch and evening customers, served in the bar, restaurant and garden. The pub has traditionally attracted custom from the parish, surrounding villages and from further afield. During the day the pub has been popular with walkers (Offa’s Dyke), climbers and cyclists.

Since Woodcroft developed as a hamlet in the early nineteenth century, its main amenity has been the Rising Sun Public House. It was first mentioned in 1858 when the landlord was James Reece. The Pub was supported by a post office, butcher and bakery for a time, but these closed in the 1980’s.

In 1891 the Rising Sun was first tied to a brewery, Daniel Sykes & Co. Redcliffe Brewery in Bristol. Since then, the Rising Sun has been owned by various brewery companies and has operated on a tenancy basis.

From 2005 it was owned by Pubfolio Ltd and was put up for sale in 2012 along with nearly 80 other pubs when the company went into administration. In October 2012 it was acquired by the previous owners, who closed the pub in order to develop the land into housing. A few months later SOS (Save Our Sun) was formed by a local group of people with the aim of bringing the Pub back into the community.

Ten years later in 2021, the pub was bought by the community in order to return it to its original role as a community asset. After a period of refurbishment, the Pub is again ready to trade. The Rising Sun Woodcroft Community Pub Limited was founded in 2021 by the community of Woodcroft and the surrounding areas. The Pub is a community benefit society owned and controlled by its member shareholders who elect a Management Committee (the directors)