The Beverley Arms
The latest addition to the Thwaites portfolio, The Beverley Arms opened to the public in July 2018. The Beverley Arms was once Beverley’s flagship coaching inn, welcoming guests since the 17th Century, and now Thwaites has put it back in its place in the heart of the thriving East Riding market town.
Over £6m has been spent turning the historic building into a stylish place to eat, drink and stay with striking interior design and entertaining spaces. It now boasts 38 bedrooms, a 68-seat restaurant bathed in natural light, 2 private dining/meeting rooms, a modern bar and an outdoor courtyard.
Operations Director at Thwaites, Steve Martin, said: “The transformation has been extraordinary- from the moment you walk in through the doors you know you are somewhere special. Every time I go in I spot new things in the design, it’s really stunning and well thought through.”
Thwaites has been careful to retain as many original features as possible, like it does with so many of its restoration schemes as it prides itself on having characterful properties. This included the arches made famous by Elwell in his paintings of the Beverley Arms kitchen 100 years ago that is now a feature hidden in a new room.
This is Thwaites’ first property in Beverley, so a new Team has been recruited and will be led by local General Manager Chantell Dickinson-Clark, who grew up and lives in the town. The development has created 70 jobs and the new team underwent training in time to be ready for the grand opening on July 30.
A preview event took place on July 19 for local businesses and a series of celebration events will take place in August.
Chantell Dickinson-Clark said: “There’s so much love for The Beverley Arms – we have been overwhelmed by the interest and messages of support. Every day we have lots of excited people asking how things are going, wanting to know when we are opening and to see what’s happening inside.
“It’s been a labour of love because it’s taken so long for the work to be completed but it’s important to get it right – The Beverley Arms has been part of the town for over 300 years so we want to make sure we create a boutique hotel that we can be proud of for the next 300 years.”
Brewers since 1807, Thwaites boasts a growing collection of pubs, inns, hotels and spas. Faithful to the principles established by founder Daniel Thwaites, the company is independent, full of character and always seeks to give an experience that is second to none.
For more information about The Beverley Arms visit www.beverleyarms.co.uk.
Image Credit – Hannah Webster
The Build
Having been left empty and exposed to the elements for over five years, The Beverley Arms was in need of a significant amount of work to complete its transformation. Having previously worked on a number of Thwaites projects, main contractor Philip Lally Ltd. began working on site in May 2017. To find out more about what the work entailed, Premier Construction spoke to site manager Aaron Andrews:
How did you get involved with this particular project?
“We’ve done projects with Thwaites over the last five and half years as one of their main contractors. We’ve moved from job to job – different hotels, refurbs, new builds etc.”
Did the building need a significant amount of work when you first got involved?
“Yes, it was a complete rip out including complete rewiring and complete plumbing. Half of the building was demolished and then rebuilt. The remaining, listed building was revamped to what it is now.”
Tell us a bit more about your work on site. What were the main aspects of the project?
“When we took over, we took over a very dilapidated building. It had been left to run down over the last five or six years. All the plasterwork came off, there was a complete re-plaster and rewire of all the existing bedrooms, the existing pub area and existing restaurant area. A new orangery/conservatory was built and a new bedroom block that houses fifteen rooms plus a very large kitchen was also built. That new build included 20 metre piles around an existing basement. We also had archaeological digs on the site as we were working just to make sure nothing here and there were remnants of old buildings.”
What were some of the main challenges on the project?
“The main challenges were incorporating an existing building from 1600 into a new build from 2016. You are then trying to develop two buildings that are joined together, so you’ve got the old way of building with the new way of building. The main challenges we found were in the ground with the piling and the massive amount of steel work we had to put in because we couldn’t guarantee the old structure. There were also certain areas we could do very little because it was a conservation area.”
Andy finally, how important is your relationship with Thwaites?
“We’ve worked with Thwaites for a number of years now and they are one of our main clients. We get a lot of work through them and it’s good to keep that relationship going. They’re good to us and we try and turn over a good project for them.”
Founded in 1976, Philip Lally Ltd. is a family run business specialising in shop fitting and bar fitting. For more information, please visit www.philiplallyltd.co.uk.
Glass Design Solutions
Glass Design Solutions continues to grow and build on past ventures & experiences. Boosted by an LEP grant of £50,000 to invest in plant machinery, it has created its own manufacturing facility, which truly allows them to provide a bespoke service to each and every client. Offering a full survey, design, manufacture and install service, they can tailor each project to the individual needs of the customer.
“Moving into processing our own glass has enabled us to expand our service to current customers, as well as increasing our customer base due to our new bevelling capability,” says Clive Smith, one of the company’s directors. “Bevelling is a unique skill, which we are able to excel in thanks to our talented staff.”
Since its inception 7 years ago, the company has balanced its workload between commercial projects and intricate domestic work. “The work we have done at The Beverley Arms complements other work such as an external glass box seating area we designed and installed at The Judges Lodgings in York and high end domestic projects on Jersey,” says Clive, “both the screen to the front of the wine store & the free standing entrance screen to the undercroft, have enabled us to showcase our glass expertise to a new & wider customer base.”
“Customers return again & again, because they know, that although we may not be the cheapest we deliver what we promise, & that makes us good value for money,” added Clive.
With their collective experience in the glass industry, and their drive to always look for improvement, they can help their customers find the best outcomes for their projects – and that is no bad thing.
NSM Group
The NSM Group is a commercial painting and decorating business based in Warrington that specialises in commercial, interior and exterior decoration to hotel and pub chains, education authorities, landlord portfolios and retail outlets.
With business commencing in 2013, the company has completed work on a number of projects for a variety of clients including Mitchell & Butler, the Innkeeper’s Lodge, Green King, Thwaites, CBRE, Manchester University and Liverpool University and has completed work on schools operated by Salford Council, Wigan Council and Liverpool Council’s education authorities.
The company recently worked at The Beverley Arms Hotel where they carried out external decorations, internal decorations to the pub and restaurant and decorations to the back areas and new accommodation block to complete the hotels refurbishment and upgrade program.
Commenting on the work undertaken, Steve Miller Project Manager at NSM Group said: “As a business we pride ourselves on our attention to detail, flexibility, working to tight deadlines and our willingness to go the extra mile to achieve our client’s expectations.
“We are proud to have worked on such a prestigious contract at The Beverley Arms and wish the venue every success.”
Falcon Joinery
Falcon Joinery specialise in joinery manufacture for contractors delivering projects within the retail and hospitality sector. The company manufacture bar counters, backfittings, screens and more, from a wide range of materials, all to meet the specific requirements of their clients.
Falcon Joinery started trading in September 1999, initially supplying joinery to local builders and shopfitters working in the pub re-fit trade. In October 2016, the company started working for Philip M Lally Ltd and to date they have supplied Philip M Lally Ltd with joinery for more than 20 pub re-fits including The Beverley Arms Hotel.
Terry Box, Falcon Joinery, said:
“Our involvement with The Beverley Arms Hotel began in September 2017 with several site meetings. Subsequently, we were awarded the privilege of manufacturing the orangery, pergola and staircase, as well as various vanity units for the toilet areas and bedrooms of the hotel.”
Terry added:
“We are a family run joinery business with a wealth of experience in the pub re-fit trade. We are continually adapting to the ever changing requirements of our clients, to ensure that we can deliver the best service possible.”
