Pub Heritage Bulletin 262 December 2024

Mid Wales, CROWN & ANCHOR, Llanidloes. We are pleased to report that the community buyout of this unspoilt town pub is making progress (last covered in September bulletin) The share offer was launched at the end of November and is due to close at the end of January. The Crown & Anchor Tavern Community Benefit Society hope to raise £250,000, with a minimum investment of £25. See:Powys County Times.
The website for the project which gives full details of the share offer can be found here: Crown & Anchor Tavern.
The Crown and Anchor is a multi-room pub dating back to the 17th Century and has been in the same family ownership for over 100 years. It is known as ‘Ruby’s’ after long term landlady Ruby Holmes who ran the pub for 52 years until 2017. Following Ruby’s retirement it had been leased but closed in October 2022. The community ownership model is now well established, with many communities having successfully raised the funds to buy their local pub in recent years. (The Three Star Drewe Arms in Devon was a recent success story that we covered in the November 2023 bulletin). We wish the Crown & Anchor CBS all the best with their share offer and will keep you informed of the result in due course.
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Greater London Central, TIPPERARY, Temple. This famous Irish pub reopened with much celebration in February 2024 after being closed for three years due to a major development nearby – the pub being temporarily commandeered as the site offices during this period. We now hear that the pub closed again in early December. This follows a successful planning application to redevelop the block of which the pub forms a part - see: Building Design & Construction Magazine. The good news is that the pub is to be retained, but we understand that this new development will take a number of years and that the Tipperary is likely to remain closed for the duration of the works.
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Greater Manchester, SPRINGFIELD HOTEL, Wigan. We can report the good news that the Springfield, an opulent brick and terracotta pub built in 1903, has reopened following a refurbishment – which appears to be just a minor tidy up - by Bee Social, the new leaseholders. We covered the closure in the July bulletin as a planning application to convert the upper floors to hotel use was submitted in the summer. This is still awaiting a decision from the council, and if successful, will thankfully retain the ground floor public house as part of the development. Thanks to Paul Ainsworth for this update.
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East Sussex, DEWDROP, Peacehaven. The Dewdrop Inn closed in early December. Originally built in 1924, the current character dates primarily from a 1960s refit and has remained generally unchanged since then. Long-term licensees, Jerry & Lyn Daudeney, ran the pub for over 50 years from 1968 until they retired a few years ago. The pub is not listed and is owned by pub company Stonegate. The most recent licensees do not appear to have lasted long, raising concerns about its future – so any further updates welcome.
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West Midlands, MITRE, Stourbridge. The Mitre, a fine example of 1930s ‘Brewers’ Tudor’ has been listed grade II by Historic England following an application by CAMRA and the West Midlands Combined Authority. See: What’s Brewing. Despite the opening up of the ground floor, it retains sufficient internal features of interest from the period including detailed plasterwork cornicing, stained glass, carved timber panelling and bespoke fireplaces which are referred to in the listing entry. The current licensee, Michael Cartwright is retiring after 20 years on 5th January and the Mitre will then be closed temporarily for ‘a bit of a facelift’ according to a report in the Express & Star: Express & Star. So, it is reassuring that the listing is now in place.
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East Sussex, JENNY LIND, Hastings. This Georgian style town pub was completely rebuilt after the war following bomb damage in 1943.Some of the internal material from the 1930s was then re-used in the rebuilding. It is now for sale through Just Property with an asking price of £950,000: Just Property. It is a substantial property with six B&B rooms on the upper floors.The Jenny Lind, which is not listed, is a popular community music pub and there is enough concern for its future that a ‘Let’s Save the Jenny Lind’ campaign has been launched: Sussex World.
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Greater London North West, LORD SOUTHAMPTON, Kentish Town. We last reported on the granting of a new licence for the Lord Southampton in January 2024, following its closure in 2022. It has now reopened following what looks like a sympathetic refurbishment of its interwar interior. See: Ham & High.
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West Yorkshire, HIGHLAND, Leeds. We reported on the closure of the Highland, with its inter-war interior, in May 2023. It is now due to reopen in early 2025. The new licensees currently run the Empire Café in Leeds, and the new venture will be food orientated. See:Yorkshire Evening Post. The pub is not listed so further reports once it has opened are welcome.
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If you have any news on our Heritage Pubs please send updates to: info@pubheritage.camra.org.uk .

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Tom Chapman