PRESS RELEASE FROM OAKMAN INNS & RESTAURANTS
The new owners of The Crown & Thistle in Bridge Street, Abingdon, Oakman Inns & Restaurants, are inviting those who live and work in Abingdon to help shape the future of Abingdon’s famous 17th Century coaching Inn.
Using photographs and other memorabilia, the exhibition entitled ‘The Revitalisation of The Crown and Thistle: A Celebration of its Past and Proposals for Its Future’ will provide background to some of the many interesting stories, history and characters that The Crown & Thistle has witnessed since 1605. Visitors will learn about:
• the inn keeper who won the equivalent of a £32m National Lottery prize;
• about the famous artist, art critic, women’s rights champion and College founder, John Ruskin, who lived at The Crown and Thistle
• one of the most notorious Robbers of the time who was hung partly as a result of the evidence of one of The Crown and Thistle’s landlords.
They’ll also see photographs and newspaper cuttings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including a postcard from Douglas Fairbanks Jnr while he was on the Gunga Din film set in California in 1938 wishing he could drop in for the night from his boat on the Thames.
The exhibition will also give visitors an opportunity to see plans of the proposed refurbishments including the renovation of the currently unused barn which will create a unique function room. Much of the planned work will address some of the alterations made in the 20th century and in doing so enable a revitalisation of the many historic features with careful consideration to the building’s listed status. Floor plans and “mood boards” will be on display covering the planned works to the restaurant, public house, function room and hotel rooms.
Peter Borg-Neal, the CEO of Oakman Inns & Restaurants Ltd said: “I am absolutely thrilled that we will be reviving such a beautiful and historic building in the heart of Abingdon. Our ethos is to build successful modern pubs that really do sit at the centre of their community; pubs that become the meeting place for local people and the place to network for the town’s business groups; pubs that support local charities and sports clubs, and that help town centres to thrive. Pubs are meant to be at the heart of the action – and they are our heart.”
The Exhibition will open to the public from Tuesday 26th February until Thursday 7th March from 8:00am to 8:00pm daily, and visitors will be able encouraged to make comments via a form and comment box, email or Facebook, thus helping shape the future of The Crown & Thistle and re-establishing it once more as the social heart of Abingdon.
PRESS RELEASE FROM OAKMAN INNS & RESTAURANTS
