New lease of life for one of Yorkshire’s oldest buildings
One of the county’s oldest properties is to be revived after being refurbished by its owner and leased to a pub and restaurant operator.
The Counting House, in Pontefract, a half-timbered jettied Grade II listed building which dates back to 1609, looks set to start welcoming customers once again next month, having sat empty for more than 12 years.
The property – for which stone from Pontefract Castle is believed to have been used in its construction – was originally a merchant’s counting house, before being later subdivided into residential dwellings.
It was then used as a pub for almost 30 years after current owner Guy Lister’s late father, Malcolm, an architect who was renowned for renovating old buildings and turning them into pubs and restaurants, bought and rescued it in the 1980s, winning awards for conservation.
However, it has been empty since the last tenants closed their pub in 2012.
Guy Lister has recently invested heavily in restoration work including lime rendering, plastering and re-roofing to ensure the building has a positive future ahead.
Andrew Spencer
He placed the property on the market for sale or let with York-based commercial property specialists Barry Crux & Company, which marketed to the leisure and licensing sector and attracted the new operator.
Andrew Spencer, agency director at Barry Crux & Company, said: “We’re really pleased to have completed the letting of the Counting House, and to have done so to an experienced pub and restaurant operator who we know have fantastic plans for its future.
“The Counting House is a precious and much-loved listed building that has been restored to a really high standard by the freeholder, who has done so in line with the various restrictions in place, given its listed status.
“It is a building full of charm, character and history with Georgian windows and Victorian fireplaces, and now of course it has a positive future too.
“The new operators will of course be making their own announcements over their plans, but all being well the final bits of the fit-out, such as the kitchens, will be completed in the coming weeks and they’ll be opening the doors to the paying public in March.”
The town centre property has lounge bars on both the ground and first floors, with space for around 60 diners in the restaurant area. It also has a roof terrace.
Spencer added: “This is great news for the people of Pontefract, and the surrounding area. It was very clear in the letting of this property that it was only to be let to be used as a high-class establishment.
“A big part of its history was being a pub so it is great that it is being put back to that use, and we know that it will be done in a sensitive manner.”
