The Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust (GYPT) have selected Burrell Foley Fischer (BFF) as architects to lead the Design Team for the restoration of The Iron Duke, a Grade II Listed Art Deco pub with a fascinating history.
The pub was the work of architect Arthur W. Ecclestone, who was responsible for designing several other notable buildings in the local area including The Clipper Schooner in Great Yarmouth (1938) and the Never Turn Back in Caister (1956).
The pub was built for Lacons Brewery which was based in Great Yarmouth, and at its height produced 25 million pints of beer a year, had 300 pubs throughout East Anglia and 50 in London. It closed in 1968, but the name has recently been revived by a local brewer operating on a much smaller scale. The use of the falcon in relief panels and sculptural decoration on Lacons establishments became an instantly recognisable image for local people.
Construction began in the late 1930s but was halted due to the outbreak of the Second World War. Despite being incomplete, it was granted a licence in 1940 to serve the soldiers manning anti-aircraft guns on North Denes. Building work was completed in 1948. The pub's counters were said to have been made from teak from Admiral Jellicoe’s Dreadnought Battleship, HMS Iron Duke (1912). This was the flagship of the Grand Fleet which led the British fleet in the Battle of Jutland, from which the pub takes its name.
image courtesy of the Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust
The pub has been vacant since 2008 but in December 2020 Great Yarmouth Borough Council agreed a loan enabling Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust to purchase the building. They have secured development funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) for their scheme to restore the building and as a part of that have undertaken emergency repairs to the roof ensuring the building is wind- and water-tight.
BFF will now work closely with the Trust, and the wider project team, developing a scheme of repair and sustainable reuse. The restored building will be a multi-use venue, including a bar and restaurant with holiday lets on the second floor. It will once again become a destination site, aiming to boost the area's economy and ensure the building's ongoing preservation.