THE WHITE BEAR

This listed pub is located adjacent to a busy five-way junction roundabout with plenty of passing trade to and from the M40. The building was in a dilapidated state with damp walls and a leaking roof. It had also been heavily remodelled, with the only interior features of interest being the doors and architraves on the first floor. Like many suburban London pubs it had a small dance hall at the rear. This area became the dining room, and by relocating the customer loos to first floor, it was possible to open the space out onto the rear garden. The building’s vast rear cellar extension was
partly converted into a kitchen, leaving sufficient space for storage.
 

It was important to present an attractive frontage to the busy road. New picket fences and yew hedging was installed, tarmac replaced with sandstone paving, flowerbeds formed, and attractive furniture provided. Despite the much altered state of the existing building, planning and listed
building conditions applied to the approvals and were exceedingly onerous – right down to the positioning of individual plants in the garden!