An historic pub in East Ham which reopened after a £1.5million restoration has been recognised for its impressive design and Victorian features.
The Boleyn Tavern, a landmark on Barking Road, has been named the winner in the Community Local category of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Pub Design Awards.
The watering hole built in 1899 was an "elaborate gin palace” that was long a pre-match pint venue for West Ham United supporters.
The-Boleyn-Tavern-prepares-to-reopen
But the boozer went into decline since the football club moved to its new home, until new owner Remarkable Pubs spent around 18 months overhauling it.
The much-loved pub, located on the corner of Green Street, reopened to punters in June last year following the £1.5million restoration.
Remarkable Pubs Ltd chairman Robert Thomas said: "Mark Twain once said 'buy land - they're not making any more of it'.
"Well, they are not making Boleyns anymore either!
"The work undertaken at the Boleyn was a labour of love and thoroughly appreciated by everyone concerned with the restoration process.
"Will we recoup our investment? I am positive this will happen over time and during the interim I trust everyone will enjoy it."
The Boleyn Tavern lost much of its internal partitioning when it was fashionable to 'open out' pubs in the 1970s and 80s, and was in a “sorry state” when it was bought by the independent chain, it said.
Working with Anthony Clark of Clark Architecture, Remarkable Pubs restored the original seven bars with glazed partitions between them using traditional materials and techniques.
The CAMRA awards judge's report says surviving features have been carefully repaired, with the billiards room to the rear of the building and its stained-glass skylight "particularly impressive".
That room is now used for dining and has an open kitchen incorporated against the back wall.
The Boleyn Tavern was among six winners and one highly commended pub recognised nationally across different categories in the Pub Design Awards.
The judge’s report concluded: "An impressive building for a 'street corner local', the Boleyn is once again at the heart of the local community."
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