Town's 'old lady' ready to open after facelift

By kate helyer khelyer@c-dm.co.uk

THE HISTORIC "old lady" of Ilfracombe harbour, the Royal Britannia, has shrugged off the last of her mantle of scaffolding and hopes to welcome her first customers tomorrow.

And the Journal this week got a sneak preview of what awaits those eager patrons and curious locals.

Owners Richard and Yan Wheeler have spent thousands renovating the old pub and hotel, which is known to have played host to Admiral Lord Nelson and Edward VII.

And with the workforce still busy, Mr Wheeler said he was aiming for Friday for the unofficial opening of the bar, while other parts of the hotel would open up later.

"Everything is new — the cellar, pipes, plumbing, so there are bound to be teething problems so we'll have a more official opening later."

Mr Wheeler bought the "Brit" in a poor state of repair for £500,000 and has since poured £90,000 — and 100 tonnes of concrete into the building.

"The concrete was needed for underpinning. Everything was held up by an old ship's mast and two ship beams."

One of those beams has now been reused, embedded into the wall of what will make a juice and coffee bar looking out across the harbour. It has a huge crack in it and it's 650 years old."

He said the building was in such a bad way that there was a huge sag in the middle of the roof, making it a dangerous place to enjoy a pint.

But the costly underpinning has also included steel beams and pillars to shore everything up.

As well as the bar areas, the ground floor will host a carvery and restaurant.

Upstairs on the first floor there is a second restaurant which will specialise in local fish and game.

Much of the old character of the building remains, including flagstone floors of Cornish slate through the centre of the building.

"This is such an historic old building and I wanted to keep that feeling about it."

And above the restaurants, letting rooms, including the star attraction, the room where Nelson stayed, with the stunning view from the bay window, out across the harbour.

Outside, the harbourside patio has been raised, so visitors can enjoy the view with their drinks.

And Mr Wheeler resolved the speculation over the biggest talking point — the colour. He said he chose the Regency green shade for the building after much research.

"I had seen some old buildings in Dunster and also in York which were this colour and I thought it looked nice and was in keeping with the age of the building."

And heralding the entrance of all visitors are two magnificent coats of arms and the iconic old lantern, all carefully restored by Robin Goodwin, who used to work in the design and technology department of Marlborough College.

He said: "I thought the coats of arms would be wooden, but I was amazed by these massive lumps of cast iron.

"And the lantern needed a new light fitting, some of the glass was gone and it had rusted severely in some places."

But now restored to its former glory, the lantern will be shining a welcome when the doors open.