Former strip pub wins top design award

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) has unveiled the best pub designs across Britain, which includes a former strippers’ pub, a 300-plus year old public house and a stunning Edwardian street corner local.

The Scottish Stores in London's King's Cross won this year’s Conservation Award. The Scottish Stores, a listed Grade II building, was designed in 1900-01 when joints of deer meat used to hang from the bar to be bought by visiting Scotsmen. In the 1980s it was restyled and was renowned as one of the last remaining strippers’ pubs in London. In 2015 it was conserved back to its Jacobean-style woodwork in a splendid example of how to bring a much-loved, urban landmark back to life.

The Refurbishment and Joe Goodwin Awards have both gone to the Tim Bobbin in Burnley, Lancashire. This handsome stone building dates back to 1701, but was insensitively restored in the 1960s, leading it to look tired and sad by the 1990s. Now Samuel Smith's in-house architects have rescued this prominent pub through an excellent refurbishment.

The Ship Inn in Shalesmoor, Sheffield, was also commended in the refurbishment category. Its interior was allowed to deteriorate after its surrounding community was bulldozed and it found itself perched on the edge of a busy road. Having been shut for many years, the pub has now been restored to its former Edwardian glitz and glitter.

Sean Murphy, CAMRA’s Pub Design Awards coordinator says: “This year the judges have singled out three buildings -- all of which, in their own way, point to a bright future for the traditional British pub. All three show the huge potential for restoring and preserving much-loved heritage pubs to their former glory, even after decades of change.”

The Pub Design Awards of 2016 aimed to find the most stunningly designed pubs in the UK. The awards, held in association with Historic England, recognise high standards of architecture in the refurbishment and the conservation of existing pubs.