Three Star Heritage Pubs
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 Greater London North West, BLACK LION, Kilburn. Congratulations to the Black Lion, which has won the Historic England Award for Conservation as part of the annual CAMRA Pub Design Awards, announced on 1st September. The Black Lion is grade II* listed and was designed by architect R.A.Lewcock and built in 1898. Of particular note are the wonderful copper relief panels depicting 18th Century folk at leisure designed by F.A. Callcott – who also worked on the magnificent Black Friar. London Village Pubs took on the lease in 2022 and as well as general refurbishment and removal of modern additions, they restored the ornate plaster ceiling which had been damaged by a water leak two years previously. Real ale has also returned after an absence of 10 years – so well worth a visit (website photos pre-refurbishment).
For full list of winners and accompanying photos go to: CAMRA Pub Design Awards .
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 Greater London South West, SPREAD EAGLE, Wandsworth. In the same Historic England Award for Conservation category Young’s flagship pub the Spread Eagle has been ‘Highly Commended’. The Spread Eagle reopened in March 2022 following a major refurbishment. Rebuilt in 1898 in a lavish Flemish renaissance style the rich interior gives a good idea of what a classy later Victorian pub looked like with a truly impressive display of etched glass and woodwork. (website photos pre-refurbishment).
See also George, Fitzrovia in One Star news.
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Devon, DREWE ARMS, Drewsteignton. Addition to the bulletin: We reported last month on the community buyout of the famous Devon village pub. The Share Offer went live on 30th September via the Crowdfunder platform and has already had a very positive response raising nearly £230,000 in four days – target is £600,000. The share offer is open until 29th October – anyone interested in finding out more should go to their website, where there is a link to their crowdfunder page: Drewe Arms Community Pub . We wish them the best of luck in achieving their target.
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 Mid Wales, CROWN & ANCHOR, Llanidloes. We reported in November last year on the closure of this classic town pub, which was run by Ruby Holmes for over 50 years until her retirement in 2017. Now there is some promising news that locals have formed the ‘Crown and Anchor Restoration Project’ and are looking into options for community ownership. See: Powys County Times .
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Two Star Heritage Pubs
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 Kent, RAILWAY HOTEL, Faversham. The Railway Hotel has reopened under new management following a refurbishment. Located opposite the railway station, the main bar building was designed in 1898 for Shepherd Neame. It retains the original curved bar and bar back with screen partitions that were partially restored in 2007 (it had been opened up in 1966), allowing the original layout to still be appreciated. See: Morning Advertiser . Thanks to Paul Ainsworth for this news.
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 Lancashire, VICTORIA HOTEL, Cleveleys. This massive inter war pub, with an interior designed in a baronial style, has closed. Owners Samuel Smith say it will reopen and are looking for new management. Interesting article recalling its musical heyday in the 60’s with not all enamoured with the current regime - See: Blackpool Gazette .
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 Leicestershire, STAMFORD & WARRINGTON, Coalville. Sad news that landlord Dave Stanton died in June after 36 years running the pub. The Stamford & Warrington is a remarkable surviving example of how pubs were refitted in a basic style in the late 1950s/ early 60’s. The pub is now shut and facing an uncertain future with owners Admiral Taverns stating ominously ‘we are assessing all our options regarding the future of this site’.
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 Hampshire, JUNCTION, Southampton. We reported in June that this Greene King pub had closed. The pub has been taken on by Woodies Wine Bar and is due to reopen on November 1st following a refurbishment. See: Southern Daily Echo . The Junction, grade II listed, was built in 1876 and retains many Victorian and early 20th Century features. It seems that the pub will remain fundamentally unchanged, but any updates when open will be welcome.
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 Leicestershire, WHARF, Hinckley. The Wharf is an unspoilt interwar Tudor style pub, owned by Marston’s - and it is not listed. We hear from Chris Merriman – pub protection officer for Hinckley & Bosworth CAMRA, that the local council in association with the CAMRA branch have tried to get the pub listed in order to protect it. Disappointingly the response has been that the pub did not qualify for listing because the Department for Culture Media and Sport has to prioritise designation resources. They go on to say that the pub is not under threat, it is not a strategic priority nor does it possess ‘evident significance’ – a point we disagree on as so few pubs from this period remain intact. They go on to say that if the pub is subject to an immediate threat in the future a new application can be made - as we know non-listed pub interiors can be ripped out in a very short time with no consent required. It remains deeply concerning that underfunding at both national and local government level continues to place our heritage at risk.
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One Star Heritage Pubs
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 South Yorkshire, BIG GUN HOTEL, Sheffield. Bad news that the Big Gun Hotel is closed. It was sold in 2021 to a property developer who apparently wants to convert to residential on the upper floor and convert the ground floor pub to a pizza takeaway. See: BBC . Planning permission will be required and an application not yet been lodged. Sheffield CAMRA are monitoring the situation. Thanks to Dave Pickersgill for this news.
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 Greater London Central, GEORGE, Fitzrovia. The George has been ‘Highly Commended’ in the Refurbishment category of the Pub Design Awards following an intensive and high-quality refurbishment that conserved the historic features (website photos pre-refurbishment).
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Other Items of Interest
Autumn Edition of BEER Magazine The autumn edition is available here: BEER . (CAMRA login required). Paul Ainsworth looks in detail at eight heritage pubs that have been upgraded to Three Star as part of the re-grading exercise (p.43-44). Also a round-up of heritage pub news from the season is included on the Whats Brewing section p.54-55.
Real Heritage Pubs Online Guides Worth being aware of The Real Heritage Pubs Guide section of the website. This provides region by region downloadable guides and these are automatically updated in line with the entries on the website – not simply a downloadable copy of the printed guides. So, they are always up to date. Available here: Real Heritage Pub Guides .
If you have any news on our Heritage Pubs please send updates to: info@pubheritage.camra.org.uk .
Please feel free to forward this bulletin to your friends who are also interested in visiting pubs like these - if they wish to receive future bulletins direct all they have to do is sign up by sending an email to bulletin@pubheritage.camra.org.uk with the word “subscribe” as the subject or “unsubscribe” if you wish to stop receiving bulletins.
Tom Chapman
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