The things that make the news!

It's offical,the blog (& our urinals) are local news! Yesterday's Bath Chronicle: -



PUB WHERE YOU CAN STILL SPEND A VICTORIAN PENNY
Date : 16.05.07

Pub loos have the reputation of being a bit grim.

But gents spending a penny at a newly renovated pub in Bradford on Avon will find their surroundings more dignified following the installation of antique urinals.

The Victorian porcelain loos have been installed at The Castle. In their heyday, they were considered the height of fashion.

Businessman Alex Reilley said he hoped that such attention to detail would pay off when the pub opened next month.

"We really liked the idea of having some proper urinals and they are a very grand piece of porcelain ware," he said.

"A lot of them have been ripped out and replaced by stainless steel, but we managed to track some down.

"When blokes come to use them, most will not give it a second thought and think it is part of the building that we inherited.

"There are so many things we could do to cut costs and corners, but this is more than creating a business.

"As perverse as it might sound, it is quite fun sourcing things like urinals."

The painstaking renovation work has been detailed on a blog - an internet diary - and Mr Reilley said this had proved popular.

Entries detail the hunt for 1850s American, saloon-style lampshades - and the panic caused when a specialist workman broke his leg playing football and couldn't start work as planned.

"People are fascinated by this sort of story - how businesses are set up, how much they cost - the blog is a bit Kitchen Nightmares meets Grand Designs," said Mr Reilley.

The Castle will be a boutique hotel and family pub with the emphasis placed on locally sourced and reasonably priced food.

"We are very fortunate that The Castle had a lot of character already and we wanted to add to that character," said Mr Reilley.

"We have taken on what is effectively a building that is very, very tired with the interior in a poor condition, and are going to create a great looking pub with a lot of attention to detail.

"Half of the pub is reasonably safe in terms of its interior and people won't walk in and feel out of their depth.

"In the other half we wanted to have a grandiose theme with some lovely flocked wallpaper.

"Our lampshades and a lot of antique wall lights we bought on ebay, and we have got a fantastic finished product."