Very good to see a number of our Three Star Heritage Pubs recognised in the CAMRA branch awards this year:
Cheshire, CASTLE, Macclesfield. Congratulations to the Castle for being awarded CAMRA’s Cheshire pub of the year. A remarkable turnaround for a pub that only reopened in 2021 following a six year closure. The Castle was also awarded the CAMRA/Historic England Conservation Award in 2022. Thanks to Gary Chester for this news.
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North West Wales, ALBION ALE HOUSE, Conwy. Congratulations to all at the Albion Ale house for being awarded Pub of the Year by Abercolwyn CAMRA. The Albion, built in 1921, was awarded the CAMRA/Historic England Conservation Award in 2013. And having been saved by a consortium of four local breweries, it remains an essential destination for real ale lovers. See: North Wales Pioneer.
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Tayside, SPEEDWELL BAR, Dundee. And also to the Speedwell Bar for being awarded the Tayside CAMRA Pub of the Year. The Speedwell Bar, known as ‘Mennies’ after the family that ran it from the 1920s until 1995, was built in 1903 and has a wonderful Edwardian interior, and obviously good real ale too! Thanks to Jim McMahon for this.
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Bedfordshire, COCK, Broom. And last, but by no means least, congratulations to all at the Cock for being awarded East Bedfordshire CAMRA’s Rural Pub of the Year for the second year running. The Cock is one of only 7 traditional pubs in the country that does not have a bar counter.
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Two Star Heritage Pubs
South Yorkshire, WHITE LION, Sheffield. We reported in the April bulletin that the White Lion was closed for a refurbishment. It has now reopened. Paul Ainsworth and Dave Pickersgill from the Pub Heritage Group visited this month and met licensee Dan Price. Paul reports that the refurbishment has been very respectful of the historic interior and that the pub is clearly in good hands. See: The Star.
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Hampshire, JUNCTION, Southampton. The Junction, a Victorian pub built in 1876, has closed. Owned by Greene King, the freehold was listed with Savills late last year and is now shown as being under offer: Savills.
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One Star Heritage Pubs
Gloucestershire, OLDE BLACK BEAR, Tewkesbury. Good news that the Olde Black Bear has reopened after being closed for a refurbishment/ restoration project that has taken six years to complete (although the first three of those appear to have been spent in the planning process!). Reputed to be the oldest inn in Gloucestershire, dating back to 1308, it consists primarily of a 16th Century timber framed building, and is now owned by furniture maker Luke Haines. Typical of many ancient pubs it has many historic features but the pub interior has been altered and opened up over the years. Of particular interest is the decorative 16th Century leather ceiling in the public bar, which has been restored. For more see: So Glos. Although the article implies that it is reopening later in the year, it is reported as now open on Whatpub. Hours are 10.00am – 11.00pm every day.
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Borders, CROOK INN, Tweedsmuir. Mick Slaughter reports that The Wee Crook Café is opening over the summer, in a separate building from the Crook Inn itself. There is no news on the reopening of the pub, closed since 2006, and previously included on the National Inventory for its 1930s interior. The pub building has been saved from development due a long running community campaign - for more information on the project see: Tweedsmuir. As far as the pub interior is concerned the plan is to retain the very impressive art deco loos but sadly not the eccentrically rustic Willie Wastle’s bar from the same period, which is a great shame.
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Greater Manchester, ROYAL OAK, Oldham. Owned by Robinsons, the Royal Oak closed in March this year after the licensee quit.
Greater London North, Ship, Tottenham. Closed since February this year, the Ship is owned by Punch Taverns. They are apparently seeking a new tenant.
Heritage Pubs Grading.
We have received requests for a simple list of the pubs that have been upgraded or downgraded as part of the recent regrading process. There is now a list of all the heritage pubs arranged showing their previous grading – National Inventory/ Regional Inventory/ Some Regional Interest and showing their new star grading available here: Pub Heritage. If you scroll down to the ‘New Gradings’ section you will see the downloadable report. Thanks to Andy Shaw for organising this.
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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