Bold Street pub restored to its former Victorian glory
Newington Temple pub has now opened following a renovation to restore the 19th century pub back to its Victorian glory.
The building, found just off Bold Street and its bustling food and drink scene, has been returned to its original function as a ‘wet-led’ pub in line with its storied history.
The £200,000 renovation saw the building pared back to its Victorian stylings, including removing the dropped ceiling to reveal the pub’s original colour palette of State Room Green, and original features have been lovingly restored.
Also discovered in storage in the upper rooms were items over a century old, including the original pub telephone, which have now been incorporated into the decor of the rooms.
Ahead of the eight-week renovation, Director of Ma Pub Group Iain Hoskins looked into the history of the building and discovered its origins as a vaudeville performance space that once hosted the debut UK performance of famous circus performer Tom Thumb in 1844.
Managed by circus impresario PT Barnum, Tom Thumb was booked for a week-long engagement in February 1844 at No 8 Newington, where he performed in costumes such as Napoleon and the Greek Gods for the price of 6p entrance fee.
As a dedication to No 8 Newington being Tom Thumb’s debut performance on British soil, the lounge area of the pub has now been named the 'Tom Thumb Lounge' with also their own brewed lager being named after the legendary diminutive performer.
Iain Hoskins, Director of Ma Pub Group said: "It's been a labour of love over the past couple of months as the building was in quite a bad way. Like with domestic renovations of period buildings, 8 Newington threw up a number of unforeseen surprises and challenges along the way. It reminds me of the work we did with Ma Boyle’s and before that Ma Egerton's here in the city, both of which had reached the end of the road and the future for them looked bleak prior to the work we did with restoring them and giving them a fresh purpose.
“With Newington Temple, I'm very pleased with what we've achieved; the place is stunning, we've done justice to its rich history and preserved the pub and the building for future generations to enjoy. Digging into Newington’s background, it’s been illuminating understanding what used to go on here, especially the performance side. The pub in its various name changes across the decades has outlived every other business on Bold Street over the last two centuries, so it’s great to see her properly back in business.”
The Newington Temple pub is open until 11pm from Sunday to Thursday and until 1am on Friday and Saturday.
For more information follow Newington Temple on instagram or visit the Ma Pub Group website.
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