CAMRA’s Pub Heritage Group shares news and updates about pubs with historically significant interiors across the UK. For further news, see the Pub Heritage webpage here.

Three Star Heritage Pubs

Drewe Arms, Drewsteignton, Devon (above)

CAMRA's Pub Saving Award recognises those who have come together to save pubs that would have otherwise been demolished or converted to another use. This year, a new Heritage category was introduced to celebrate the saving or revitalisation of pubs on the National Inventory. The first winner is the Drewsteignton Community Society from Devon. When the Drewe Arms closed in 2022, the society managed to raise £550,000 in just six weeks to buy it for the community. The pub reopened last March and is once again the centre of village life. A major kitchen refurbishment is currently under way, and the society hopes to be serving food from the end of March. Future plans include the development of accommodation.

Kings Head, Bristol, Gloucestershire & Bristol (above)

Runner up in the Heritage category was another Three Star pub, the Kings Head in Bristol. Shut since the Covid pandemic, it was bought and sensitively restored by the Good Chemistry brewery. The delightful Victorian interior now positively sparkles.

Britons Protection, Manchester, Greater Manchester (above)

Following Britons Protection licensees Alan Hudd and Mark West’s legal success in their battle to avoid the termination of their lease by owner Heineken Star Pubs & Bars, as covered in the October bulletin, the Pub Heritage Group was surprised to hear they quit the pub in early January. After the high costs involved in the three-year legal dispute, combined with a quiet trading period over Christmas, this now means that Star Pubs and Bars runs the pub. The Pub Heritage Group has heard that a much-needed spruce-up has taken place, but the range of both whiskies and local cask beer has been reduced.

Vine, Pittshill, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire (above)

The Pub Heritage Group reported in October that the Vine, a rare surviving example of a Victorian back-street local, was up for sale by auction following the passing of landlord Sid Alcock. The Vine now has a new owner who intends to reopen it as a pub. The Pub Heritage Group would welcome any further news.

Duke William, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire (above)

The freehold of the Duke William is up for sale with a guide price of £180,000, and the auction is due to take place 3 March. The Pub Heritage Group reported on the worrying turnover of licensees in the September bulletin and understands that the latest licensee, who took over in October, has now left and the pub is closed.  More information about the auction can be found on the Commercial Property Place website here.

Black Horse, Preston, Lancashire (above)

The Black Horse has been awarded Central Lancashire CAMRA branch’s Pub of the Year for an unprecedented third year in a row. A truly impressive Victorian-era pub, the Black Horse includes one of only 14 surviving ceramic bar counters in the UK. The pub made it to the final four in CAMRA’s Pub of the Year competition, losing out to the Bailey Head in Oswestry.

Olde Tavern, Kington, Herefordshire (above)

The Olde Tavern has been awarded Herefordshire CAMRA branch’s Pub of the Year. This Victorian town pub was owned by the Jones family from 1884 until 2002. Despite subsequent alterations to two of the rooms, the public bar remains practically unchanged since the late 19th century.

New Inn, Hadlow Down, East Sussex (above)

It is with great sadness that the Pub Heritage Group announces the passing of landlord Graham Cook, who died in May last year at the age of 80. However, the pub remains open as his widow has allowed a local with a personal licence to take over the running of the pub with a band of regulars putting in shifts behind the bar. The New Inn was rebuilt in 1885 as a hotel and retains a basic, but intact, Victorian interior.

New Beehive, Bradford, West Yorkshire (above)

The Pub Heritage Group reported on the decision by the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council to approve the pub’s change of use in April 2024. CAMRA national planning policy adviser Paul Ainsworth wrote to the authority requesting that it review and revoke the decision. A reply was received nine months later, stating that, in the council’s view, the decision was lawful and would not be reconsidered. This means Bradford will lose its sole remaining Three Star National Inventory pub.

Two Star Heritage Pubs

Wellington, York, North Yorkshire (above)

The Wellington, owned by Samuel Smith’s, closed suddenly in November with popular landlady Sue Frost being given a mere 12 hours’ notice to quit. The local community has started a petition to reinstate Sue with the support of local councillor Conrad Whitcroft. More information about the petition can be found on the York Press website here.

One Star Heritage Pubs

King’s Arms, Eastbourne, East Sussex (above)

Closed since August 2023, a planning application for change of use has been submitted for the King’s Arms. The plans are to develop three flats on the ground floor – the upper floors having already been turned into apartments. The Kings Arms was built in 1900 in an opulent style typical of the period and retains many decorative features from the time. South East Sussex CAMRA branch has lodged an objection.

Slaters Arms, Corris, Mid-Wales

The Slaters Arms has been removed from the inventory following a refurbishment in 2022 which resulted in the complete gutting of the interior.

If you have any news for CAMRA’s Heritage Pubs team, send to: info@pubheritage.camra.org.uk. If you wish to receive the bulletins directly, 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.

Photos by Michael Slaughter and Michael Schouten