Great Yarmouth’s art deco pub The Iron Duke awarded £2.4million by The National Lottery Heritage Fund

PRESS RELEASE – March 2024

Great Yarmouth’s art deco pub The Iron Duke awarded £2.4million by The National Lottery Heritage Fund

Restoration efforts led by Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust have taken a leap forward with a £2,405,000 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The Iron Duke restoration project will breathe life back into the derelict building and give it a long-term sustainable future.

The plans will see the stunning art deco building fully and faithfully restored back to how it would have originally looked in its heyday as a beacon of 1930’s modernity. The team have made use of the original plans and consulted with former owners, managers and users to ensure authenticity.

When fully repaired, the grade II listed building will be a year-round local destination, support the local economy by creating up to 50 jobs, and work with the community offering opportunities to learn, train and volunteer on a host of activities.

The building has been vacant, neglected and forlorn since 2007. Its transformation is being made possible thanks to the Heritage Fund and National Lottery players, along with funding from Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust and Norfolk County Council. 

On the ground floor Zaks will create a pub in one of the two original bars serving local beers from Lacons Brewery, who were The Iron Duke’s original owners, and cocktails with a nod to the 1930’s period.

The other bar will become a restaurant where food will be cooked in view of the customers. Both bars will have an elegant art deco aesthetic which has been developed through researching the historic archives and input from conservation paint consultants, architectural historians and interior designers.

In the past the first floor provided accommodation for the pub manager. This space will be repurposed to create two holiday flats, helping to ensure that the investment by the Heritage Fund, Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust and Zaks will a long term viable solution to the currently vacant building.  Both flats will be designed and decorated with an art deco theme to provide fabulous holiday accommodation in keeping with the building’s heritage.

The area around the building will be carefully landscaped and designs will allow access for all.

In addition to the construction and restoration work there will be a range of opportunities for the people to become involved with the project, these include learning traditional building skills, a ongoing photography recording project, workshops centred around food and cooking with an emphasis on local and low cost, a painting scheme to create murals for the hoardings around the site depicting the history of the building and much more.

Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust began working to secure a future for the Iron Duke in 2023, backed by a development grant from the Heritage Fund. With commercial partners Zaks they have worked with a team of architects, consultants and other experts to develop the project to a point where the physical restoration can begin.

Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust and partners are working to a programme which will see this wonderful building open and serving pints by early summer 2026.

Bernard Williamson, Chairman Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust said: “We are incredibly grateful for the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund in enabling us to take this project forward and start to deliver the full restoration and economic reuse of this incredibly important listed building.”

Chris Carr, Co-Owner Zaks (UK) Ltd said: “Ian and I are excited to bring a new concept to Great Yarmouth. The Iron Duke is such an Iconic building, and we look forward to working with GYPT to breathe life back into it. Being both local and already having a business in the town, we look forward to creating new jobs, working with the diverse community, and forming further partnerships with local businesses and suppliers. We know it will be a real destination for both locals and visitors to Great Yarmouth.”

 The grant is another example of the Heritage Fund’s long term support for Great Yarmouth which over the years has helped to secure the future of scores of historic assets such as the Time and Tide Museum, St Georges Theatre, The Waterways, Winter Gardens and now The Iron Duke.Liz Bates, Area Director, England, Midlands & East at The National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “We are pleased to support Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust’s plans for the Iron Duke’s restoration and revival. Thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, our Heritage Enterprise grants are designed to assist projects in finding viable futures for historic buildings at risk from dereliction and decay. Establishing a sustainable commercial use for the Iron Duke will bring benefits for the local community and ensure the building’s unique character can be celebrated and enjoyed.”

ENDS

About The Iron Duke

The Iron Duke is a Grade II listed building purchased by GYPT in February 2021. Since purchase the trust has made the building wind and weather tight, undertaken emergency repairs and secured the building against unlawful ingress and vandalism. They have undertaken a full measured and topographic survey, produced a heritage statement, analysis and research. Work has also included the clearance of the grounds, the removal of accumulated and hazardous waste and asbestos survey work. A detailed project plan, feasibility study, options appraisal and business plan have been produced.

About Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust

Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust was established in 1979 as a registered charity with a vision to preserve, safeguard and promote the cultural heritage of Great Yarmouth. One of the longest running building preservation trusts in the UK, the trust acquires heritage assets at risk and fully restores them back to a viable and economic use. The trust has developed and created a pioneering approach to community engagement and training.

About Chris Carr & Ian Hacon (Co-Owners of Zaks)

Whilst Zaks is known for its authentic American food locally, the team at Zaks have many years of experience in the industry. Chris Carr spent the first 12 years of his career at Whitbread, and in that time managed some of their busiest venues in the North West. He then went on to be Chief Operating Officer of Zaks under the previous ownership for 10 years and later went on to also manage and lead the redevelopment of the bars and restaurants at Kelling Heath Holiday Park which included fine dining, beer festivals and a big focus on local produce. He then became COO of another large mixed leisure complex in North Norfolk and introduced new dining and leisure experiences to the complex. He then worked as the Development Director for a small local pub chain, introducing and updating their food offering and changing the feel of their flagship site to be more family-friendly, before returning to Zaks as Co-owner in 2020. 

Ian Hacon, also Co-Owner, has over 45 years of business experience in sectors such as accountancy, TV and film, oil and gas, construction, marketing and healthcare. He is a Chartered Accountant but has also spent 20 years of his career in hospitality and leisure businesses. He was Chief Exec of Blue Sky Leisure for 9 years, which at the time employed 250 people in the leisure and hospitality sector. He has sat as an Advisor / Non-Executive Director for many businesses and still sits on the board at Blue Sky Leisure.  

For more info about Zaks visit www.zaks.uk.com

About The National Lottery Heritage Fund

Our vision is for heritage to be valued, cared for and sustained for everyone, now and in the future. That’s why as the largest funder for the UK’s heritage we are dedicated to supporting projects that connect people and communities to heritage, as set out in our strategic plan, Heritage 2033. Heritage can be anything from the past that people value and want to pass on to future generations. We believe in the power of heritage to ignite the imagination, offer joy and inspiration, and to build pride in place and connection to the past. 

Over the next 10 years, we aim to invest £3.6billion raised for good causes by National Lottery players to make a decisive difference for people, places and communities.

www.heritagefund.org.uk

Follow @HeritageFundUK on X/Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and use #NationalLottery #HeritageFund

Further information

For further information, images and interviews please contact Darren Barker at Great Yarmouth Preservation Trust on darren@gy-pt.org.