Judge praises pubs for using modern design
by Tony Halstead The best designed pubs throughout Britain have been honoured in an annual competition organised by Camra, the Campaign for Real Ale. The National Pub Design Awards run in partnership with English Heritage and the Victorian Society were announced on Monday. The event aims to highlight the best contemporary and traditional design practice being used by operators across the country, with five categories being won by houses in Cardiff, Kent, Greater Manchester, Sheffield and Nottingham. Judge Steve Parissen said: "Altogether these winning pubs represent the best of modern design. Whether landlords, owners, architects and designers have combined to revitalise a forgotten site or to enhance an old urban favourite, they clearly demonstrate what pub interiors can become if imaginatively and sensitively re-planned." Shepherd Neame's Manor Farm Barn at Southfleet in Kent took the honours in the new-build category. The Faversham brewer was praised for the way it converted the 18th-century barn, complete with restored timbers and new thatched roof, with judge Dr Steve Parissien saying it was "a very welcome beacon of contemporary design in these days of uncertainty, compromise and cliché." The refurbishment category was won by Nottingham brewer, Hardys & Hansons, for its redevelopment of the Test Match at West Bridgford, which is located near the famous Trent Bridge cricket ground. Judges highlighted the way designers had adhered to rigorous planning controls to restore the Grade-II listed building. The "splendour" of the 1938 public bar, the front lounge and the function room was also praised. The conversion to pub use section award went to the Gatekeeper, which is in Cardiff and is owned by JD Wetherspoon. This was developed into a pub after a former life as a theatre and auction house. Parissen said: "In its assurance and quality, the overall look has a timeless quality about it." The conservation award was won by the Bath Hotel, Sheffield, which has been sensitively restored to retain the bulk of its original 1931 features by its owner, Brian Johnson. The Joe Goodwin award named after a former Camra chairman who died tragically young for best restored local went to the Railway at West Didsbury, Manchester, a pub operated by city brewer, Joseph Holt. Judges were impressed by the way the small, single-room pub had been refitted, while retaining some of the original features, such as a salvaged bar counter. Roll of honour New Build: Manor Farm Southfleet, Kent Refurbishment: Test Match West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire Conversion: Gatekeeper Cardiff Conservation: Bath Hotel, Sheffield, Restoration: Railway West Didsbury, Manchester
