Former GBPA best newcomers complete £20,000 beer garden revamp
Dianne and Iain Irving took over at the Crown in November 2017 after three years managing the White Mare in Beckermet, Cumbria, where they won the 2016 Great British Pub Award for Best Newcomer.
Courtyard @ the Crown will open on the evening of Friday 25 May with new, high-quality furniture, including sofas and fire pit tables introduced alongside a new light bites menu.
However, the main attraction will be a 25ft x 9ft mural on the courtyard’s main wall depicting history and famous landmarks of Carlisle.
The mural was painted by international graffiti artist Martin Hayhurst who has previously been commissioned to paint for the V-Festival, Channel 4, ITV, L’Oreal and Microsoft.
Dianne Irving said: “We completed the refurbishment of the pub itself in December and it has made a huge difference.
“At the time, we hadn’t touched the beer garden and we took our time to come up with a concept that would be very different from the other outdoor seating areas in the city.
“The Crown has a rich history from its days as a state managed pub and we wanted to continue the sense of pride in being part of Carlisle and Stanwix heritage.
“We put the challenge to Martin to design a mural that would contain various references to Carlisle and its history, without being too obvious.
“I am sure that many of our customers will recognise some of the references immediately, but others are a bit more cryptic.
“We are delighted with Martin’s work. We now have a beer garden like no other in the city”.
Initial entry to the John Smith’s Great British Pub Awards closes on 25 May. You can enter online at www.greatbritishpubawards.co.uk.
