The floating castle sails once again
After a £4.75m makeover the Tattershall Castle is back on the river and business is on the up. Michelle Perrett reports.
When Spirit Group took over the Tattershall Castle it was a shell of its former self - and not just a shell, but a moored paddle steamer that had seen better days. However, after a £4.75m facelift London's favourite floating watering hole is back to its former glory.
After eight months in dry dock for its refurbishment it has returned to its original location on the River Thames opposite the London Eye and next to the Houses of Parliament.
While the floating pub has seen a raft of famous people frequent its bows during the years - including MPs and Dame Vera Lynn - it is perhaps more famous for giving a senior politician one of his first jobs as a kitchen hand. That politician was deputy prime minister John Prescott.
The pub started its life as a paddle steamer originally built to ferry passengers across the Humber, but the ship became obsolete in 1973 when the Humber Bridge was built. It was then sold and turned into an art gallery before being refurbished in the 1980s as a pub and restaurant. It is now the managed house operator's flagship site.
Karen Jones, chief executive officer of Spirit, says: "Following the acquisition of Scottish & Newcastle last year, we were surprised but delighted to inherit this rather unusual but fabulous venue. The refit has certainly proven to be popular with our regulars and we're confident that both the local customers and tourists will love it too."
The Tattershall Castle was given a new modern look and large clear windows were fitted in the main bar - replacing the traditional port holes - to give customers a better view of the sights, including the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament.
The pub is divided into three different sections - the main bar, which is fitted with contemporary decor, the nightclub, which boasts a new state of the art sound system, and a chill-out bar and private dining area on the lower deck. The venue also boasts a heated deck area with a barbecue.
But it was not just the sound system and refurbishment that the venue needed, the steamer was old and needed to be brought up to scratch in other areas.
Brian Andrew, business development manager for Spirit, says: "We also needed to improve safety features to bring it up to modern standards."
Spirit also needed to do some structural work to the hull of the ship, which had not been touched for nearly 15 years. A new resin flooring was put on the deck as it was easier to clean and hard wearing.
With summer being the best time for trade on the Tattershall Castle, Spirit made the open areas of the deck more attractive.
"Summertime is the best trading period," Brian says. "We have put seating and canopies on board to extend these evenings and make it a better environment."
There is, however, one downside to having a boat as a pub, as Brian points out. "One thing the boat cannot serve is real ale. Real ales need to settle, so you can't get a clear pint on the Tattershall Castle.
"The best thing for me is seeing it from a complete shell to the standard of operation it is now," he adds.
The history
- 1973 - The boat is retired from service after 40 years ferrying over a million passengers across the River Humber
- 1975 - The Tattershall Castle becomes the first floating art gallery and conference centre
- 1981 - The boat is sold for transformation into pub and restaurant
- 2003 - the paddle steamer is floated down the Thames to Victoria deep wharf and loaded into a semi-submersible barge. It is then taken to Great Yarmouth.
Pictured l-r: Coddy and Kim Conroy (general managers), Karen Jones (Spirit CEO) and Peter Scargill (Spirit operations director)
