De Matos Ryan saves isolated community pub from closure by reverting to the traditional concept of a rural inn
De Matos Ryan has transformed The Alice Hawthorn’s sustainability with the addition of twelve guest bedrooms and the renovation of its Grade II listed pub. At the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Nidd, the village of Nun Monkton was historically an important Northern trade hub for the medieval river transport network, with many travellers stopping overnight. The increase in road travel saw fewer travellers passing through, which eventually led to its demise as a trade and social point. The closure of the village’s four taverns is sadly consistent with socio-economic and legal changes impacting pubs across the country. Named after a famous 19th Century racehorse, The Alice Hawthorn is the village’s last remaining pub. In recent years, this critical meeting point and social hub for the local community was in economic decline and had come under threat.
De Matos Ryan Director Angus Morrogh-Ryan comments, “Creating an innovative new economy around assets such as the village pub is essential to the health and well-being of any rural community. The tranquil village of Nun Monkton lures visitors from afar to see the tallest maypole in England and one of the last remaining working greens in Yorkshire. Before our client took ownership in 2013, the pub struggled commercially and had even closed for a period in 2007. Despite significant investment in a new kitchen and the wholesale refurbishment of the ground floor pub spaces, it was not yet a sustainable business. To become solvent long term, it needed to increase its appeal to a broader audience. Therefore, the brief was to provide tourists, as well as the local community, with a high-quality but affordable basecamp from which to enjoy the surrounding landscape and visitor attractions.”
Close, collaborative consultations with Harrogate Borough Council and the local community informed the project’s design. During these consultations, one villager noted that arriving home at night and seeing the pub lights on always gave them a warm feeling of contentment and calm. To see these switched off permanently would ostensibly remove a key organ of the community. It was therefore incredibly important to save the pub from extinction. Community needs were considered at every stage of the design process and the scheme was tweaked, changed and reconfigured to acknowledge local feedback. The redevelopment has created new revenue streams for the restaurant and bar business, improved visitor footfall and dwell time and, most critically, increased propensity to spend within the local economy.
The scheme includes twelve ensuite guest bedrooms, four on the first floor of the pub and eight around a new courtyard, which extends the village green into the pub’s rear garden. The project takes its inspiration from the Norse ‘garth’ (‘grassy cloister’ or ‘clearing in the woods’), creating a sense of quiet enclosure and a notional extension of the village green: a place of gathering. The design reflects the character of the various informal farmsteads that surround the green, which continues to be grazed by cows and other animals. The home-grown Douglas fir framed buildings use authentic agricultural building materials, such as galvanised corrugated steel roofing and larch cladding, to create the sense that the animals have only recently moved out. A simple and honest construction typology ensures that the project looks like the way it was built. The guest bedrooms are supported by new ancillary service areas, including housekeeping and linen stores, and staff accommodation.
Client and Nun Monkton local Kate Harpin comments, “We were very excited with the shape of the plans as they evolved, and the finished result has exceeded our expectations. We have twelve beautiful guest bedrooms, every one of them perfect in its own way. The beer garden has been flanked by the new buildings, making an atmospheric, sheltered and relaxing place to enjoy a pint and a tasty plate. The buildings, imagined as agricultural stables, stores, and barn, work brilliantly in our setting, and I have no doubt will get even better with age and weather. However, best of all, our guests love it, and the sense of pride exuded by the staff is wonderful. Since reopening, business has never been better.”
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