Historic England Award for Conservation 2024 winner The Vines, Liverpool
The Campaign for Real ale (CAMRA) has relaunched its Pub Design Awards to seek out the most stunning examples of pub architecture, conservation and refurbishment across the UK.
Held in conjunction with Historic England, CAMRA’s prestigious Pub Design Awards champion the highest standards of design in the refurbishment and conservation of existing pubs, as well as newly built pubs and conversions to pub use.
Judged by a panel of experts in design and conservation, CAMRA’s Pub Design Awards are an opportunity for owners and communities to showcase the craftmanship that they have poured into their pubs. The awards also encourage heritage enthusiasts and pub lovers alike to visit these inspirational buildings.
There are five different categories and pubs can be entered into multiple categories:
New Build: evaluates newly built pubs, where the owners have used imagination and flair to create a new, visually impressive venue, whilst recognising the traditional qualities of pub hospitality.
Conversion to Pub Use: rewards outstanding conversions of buildings which were originally built for other uses and have now been transformed into a pub. The judges look for conversions which successfully create the pub ambience in a building not designed as one, but also those which bring out the character of the building that has been converted.
Historic England Conservation: celebrates work which conserves a pub’s architectural features, enhances the viability of a historic building, whilst restoring and updating the original facilities to give it a viable future.
Refurbishment: awarded to the best renovation of an existing pub building. This can range from a complete gutting and replacement, to enhancing the design of what was originally in the pub. As with the other awards, the judges are looking for originality and imagination in the way the building is treated.
Community Local: reserved for outstanding refurbished street-corner locals.
Andrew Davison, Chair of CAMRA’s Pub Design Awards says:
“The UK is full of visually stunning pubs, from grand Victorian gin palaces to warm homely street corner locals, all are beautiful in their own way and deserve to be celebrated.”
“Every year, the judges are blown away by the submissions for the Pub Design Awards and I cannot wait to see what is in store for us this time round.”
“It is always heartening to witness the sheer effort people will go to protect, refurbish and repair pubs, whether it be bringing back to life a long-lost historical gem, or a local community coming together refurbish their much-loved pub. It is initiatives like these the keep pubs alive for future generations to enjoy.”
“The flair and originality shown in contemporary venues and innovative conversions is of equal value, and a real testament to the determination and workmanship it requires to design a pub from the ground up.”
The Pub Design Awards are open to all UK pubs, and anyone can nominate. Entrants may be asked to provide additional photographs and plans of the building; therefore, the licensee should be aware of and approve the entry.
To enter the awards, work will need to have been completed between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024.
The competition is free to enter and closes on 17 November. Once submissions have closed, judges will visit and assess the nominated pubs throughout the year, with judging set to be completed by mid-April 2025. An awards ceremony at one of the winning pubs will be aimed to be staged in June 2025.
To enter and see examples of previous winners, please visit: https://camra.org.uk/what-we-do/pub-design-awards/
