A story appeared in the Caterer and Innkeeper a couple of days ago …
“Oakman Inns and Restaurants has bought the freehold of the Crown and Thistle in Abingdon-on-Thames and it is due to close in January for a £1.4m refurbishment.
Oakman will completely overhaul the bar and restaurant areas to create a modern pub comprising a restaurant and two bars, as well as 19 bedrooms.”
This is in addition to the development of the Nags Head Inn, the Old Post Office Inn or however Weatherspoons re-name the business, and the new restaurants in the Old Gaol.
Does this mean the ‘Stocks’ bar as well?
Would be a shame if it was closed for a long time as its a good place for a cheap pint and has good vantage points for the football on the big screens.
But good news for the town in general along with the other investments.
How much reading do you do for this blog Backstreeter? I admire your dedication.
Realty good to see bridge street attracting so much investment – the Thames is (in my opinion) tge towns most attractive feature, and this development together with the nags head renovation will hopefully bring more people to that part of town
Also on their Website
http://www.oakmaninns.co.uk/news/
Middle of the page.
I hope it doesnt mean the stocks bar. That’ll be the last of Abingdons old coaching Inns to loose its old pub like feel in favour of the modern bistro look. Our old pubs lasted so long but now sadly in the past few years they all seem to have either been modernised or closed down. Of course, I can see it makes sense but I just feel its a shame.
a cluster of pubs etc could give people a reason to leave the centre of town.
as it was, the nags head was very much out on it’s own.
This is really good news for Bridge Street, now all that it needs is for those horrible wheelie bins to be moved from outside the old police station & it will be a really atractive area again.
I hope this doesn’t mean the Nag’s Head will become unprofitable again
Yes that is always a worry. I do hope not though because the owner of the Broadface has done the town a service by investing it the Nag’s Head. I have been down to the ‘The Bridge’ gardens a few times over the last few days and it has been a superb place to have a drink.
I think Oakman also have the Old Post Office in Wallingford which is a really nice place. I’m afraid that the Stocks has gone down very much in my estimation, so I am please that this will be done up. Used to be a good place to watch the footie, popped in almost two years ago and have never been back. It’s dirty, shabby and the toilets are awful. It will be good to have some life back in it again.
Really good news. At last, somewhere decent to eat in Abingdon. Also, noticed that the Punchbowl has had a make-over. We’re on a bit of a pub revival, which is a bloody good thing!
Well I hope that when it’s done up, that the Stocks will still be a good place for the footy….
Well I hope they go back to making an effort with Real Ale again. After the guy left a few years ago to take over the Brewery Tap and ale in the Stocks went to pot. I hope that changes and they also keep away from nasty Greene King!!
How do Greene King pubs in Abingdon manage to make a profit ? Do they sell off all the unprofitable ones ?
Hello all,
I am Peter Borg-Neal, Chief Executive of Oakman Inns. It’s good to read that our decision to acquire and refurbish The Crown & Thistle has been generally well received.
I thought it might be useful to provide some more detail and to respond to some of the comments above.
We are currently in consultation with the Planning and Conversation Officers to finalise a planning submission that would have a twin objective of achieving a viable commercial premises whilst also enabling conservation objectives.
If all goes well we would expect to be able to start building works by late spring and to re-open in the autumn.
The Stocks Bar will change dramatically but I can ensure ‘Native’ that it won’t have a ‘bistro’ feel. We will look to restore a lot of the original features that you would associate with a coaching inn. However, please note that this building has been horribly ‘vandalised’ as a result of several poor developments and, unfortunately, many of the original features were stripped out years ago. We do have a lot of old photos of the building and will be able to restore a lot of it’s previous charm. For example we will be opening up the old barn (currently developed as offices) to reveal the ancient timbers to create what will be a stunning function room.
I would reassure ‘Chris’ that he shouldn’t fear for The Nag’s Head. Where a number of pubs in an area are well run you get the phenomenon of ‘supply led demand’ whereby more people come into the town. All The Nag’s Head has ever needed is good management and, it seems to me, that it is now in very good hands. My belief is that in a couple of years time The Crown & Thistle, The Broad Faced Man, The Nag’s Head and The Old Gaol will all be part of a vibrant and successful Abingdon-Upon-Thames town centre.
Can I thank ‘Agnes’ and ‘Nick’ for their kind words and reassure ‘Tim’ that we will have a great range of real ales. We are a Freehouse. At present our main supplier is Marstons whose range includes Brakspears Oxford Gold, Wychwood Hobgoblin, Ringwood and Jennings. I will also be making contact with the Loose Cannon brewery to see if they want to supply us as well.
Finally, I will commit to reading this excellent Blog regularly to learn more about what people think. However, if anyone would like to contact me directly my email is peter@oakmaninns.co.uk
Hello Peter
Whilst its great news that the hotel is receiving a much needed refurb, I do hope that as part of your investment in the hotel that consideration will be given to the residents living nearby. The stocks bar and outside area are currently very, very noisy and rowdy on Friday’s and Saturday’s to the point were it is totally unacceptable. We the residents are currently seeking advice on this and would appreciate your comments and any plans in helping to resolve this.