Local Residents' Group Dismayed By Bell & Crown Extension

They say it is a 'tawdry addition' to the Strand on the Green pub

There is controversy growing over the 'boxed extension' recently fitted to the front of the riverside Bell & Crown terrace with a local residents' group saying that it conflicts with the character of the Strand on the Green Conservation Area.

Strand on the Green Residents' Association described it as, "a tawdry addition to a historic building."

The residents' group wrote to Fuller's to complain that the original plans "bear no resemblance to the finished product."

Fuller's have said that the new box is the design that received planning consent from the council. They have offered to meet the residents' group to discuss.

The pub, which is located at Thames Road, Strand on the Green, was first licensed as The Bell & Crown in 1787 and was acquired by Fullers in 1814 and rebuilt in 1907.

The terrace as it looked previously

The conservation area statement of 2006 says that the present public house was built in 1907 and had a small shop embedded in it, originally a butcher. It is well detailed in the Arts and Craft style with original metal windows and tall chimneys.

The pub is not listed though it was thought that designation might be changed at some point due to its well preserved architectural quality and style.

December 6, 2019