Extensive restoration work costing more than £200,000 at one of Norwich's most historic buildings is nearing completion, with the new building deemed 'a lovely thing to behold'.
The first phase of repair work at the Britons Arms in Elm Hill was completed about a year ago. And the last phase of the work is just weeks away from completion, with only the creation of a link into the adjoining churchyard still to do.
Phase one of the work included repairs to the exterior of the building, the roof timbers and the re-thatching in East Anglian reed, and phase two has also included a new kitchen.
Norwich Preservation Trust took on the leasehold of the building in 2011, and an English Heritage grant of £172,000 supplemented the trust's own resources to pay for the work.
The Britons Arms coffee house and restaurant has been run since 1976 by sisters Gilly Mixer and Sue Skipper, who said: 'It's been such a long journey, almost 40 years since Gilly and I took it on, and it needed repairs then, so it's exciting that we are now on the brink of completion.'
Three years ago, Norwich City Council put the building up for sale, as it could not afford to repair it.
But this led to an outcry, and after the sisters set up a campaign to save it, the property was taken off the market. Miss Skipper added: 'The council gave the NPT a 21-year lease. Phase one of the work started in November 2012, and was completed about a year ago. An early window was discovered which was reinstated and restored as part of phase two. Phase two also involved work on the kitchen, which had become a leaking cave at the back. We were given a temporary kitchen on wheels, as we had to carry on trading – both for us and for Elm Hill, as we are a major pull for people down here. We've now got the kitchen of our dreams.
'It's nice to get up in the morning without anything hanging over us. I live here as well as work here. And now it's a lovely thing to behold. We know how important the building is, as it's of European importance.'
Malcolm Crowder, from the trust, acknowledged that it had been a long haul. He said: 'It's been difficult keeping the restaurant going at the same time. But it's been very successful. We have worked with great contractors. Our intervention, as a trust, meant that we could get grants not available to the city council, who are the freeholders of the building.'
Do you have a story about Norfolk's heritage? Email david.bale2@archant.co.uk
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