A once infamous Hertfordshire pub has reopened 150-years on from serving its last pint.
Restaurant group Lussmanns has relaunched The Five Bells, in Berkhamsted High Street, aiming to make it a top destination for a relaxing meal or drink.
Lussmanns founder and The Five Bells owner Andrei Lussman said: “We want customers to come in off the High Street, leave the worries of the world at the door, appreciate a proper pint or whatever drink takes their fancy, and tuck into some really good food done the Lussmanns way.”
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However, in the 1860s the pub had a very different reputation and had to be closed down when landlord Stephen Holloway refused to assist police with their enquiries “on the occasion of a lot of navvies making a disturbance,” the restaurant group explained.
It was apparently also notorious for bare-knuckle boxing.
The new-look Five Bells is now laid out with a traditional bar area with beer pumps and more formal restaurant space behind the bar area for lunch and dinner. It also has a large beer garden.
Since closing as a pub, the restaurant had been run by a corn merchant, dairyman, coal merchant, electrician, tailor, and as tea house and restaurant.
Andrei added: “We’re delighted to be breathing new life into a piece of Berkhamsted history, bringing it into the 21st Century.”
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