A 200-year-old pub in Liverpool city centre, that in Victorian times played host to ‘Tom Thumb’, reopens after £200,000 refurbishment. Tony McDonough reports
Located just off Bold Street in the Ropewalks area of Liverpool, Newington Temple has been serving ale to thirsty customers for 200 years.
In February the Ma Pub Group, which already owns three other pubs in the city centre including the famous Ma Boyle’s Alehouse & Eatery, announced it had acquired Newington Temple and would close it for several weeks for refurbishment.
Now, following a £200,000 transformation, the pub has opened its doors to drinkers once again. Iain Hoskins, director of Ma Pub Group described the project as “a labour of love”.
He added: “The building was in quite a bad way. Like with domestic renovations of period buildings, 8 Newington threw up a number of unforeseen surprises and challenges along the way.
“It reminds me of the work we did with Ma Boyle’s and before that Ma Egerton’s here in the city, both of which had reached the end of the road and the future for them looked bleak prior to the work we did with restoring them and giving them a fresh purpose.”
This renovation has seen the layers of history literally being peeled back to reveal original features hidden for decades. Alongside those features, a paint colour match throughout the pub of a period State Room Green was matched to the original ceiling colour.
Items dating back more than 100 years were found in storage in rooms on the upper floors and have also been incorporated into the pub’s decor. These include the original pub telephone which has been rehung.
When researching the history of the pub Iain discovered the building’s origins as a vaudeville performance space and having hosted the debut UK performance of circus performer Tom Thumb in 1844.
Managed by circus impresario PT Barnum, Tom Thumb (real name Charles Stratton) was booked for a week-long engagement in February 1844 at No 8 Newington, where he performed in costumes such as Napoleon and the Greek Gods for the price of 6p entrance fee.
As a dedication to No 8 Newington being Tom Thumb’s debut performance on British soil, the lounge area of the pub has now been named the ‘Tom Thumb Lounge’ with a specially brewed lager being named after the diminutive performer.
As well as craft and local beers, cocktails and wines, Newington Temple also offers a back bar display akin to something which might have been found in an old-fashioned sweet shop, with its Cabinet of Savory Curiosities.
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More than 20 large glass jars will hold a rotating selection of delicious savoury snacks, including Salt and Pepper Cashews, Mexican Sweet Chilli Peanuts, Teriyaki Mouchi Bites, Wasabi Peas and Chocolate Caramelised Peanuts.
Iain added: “I’m very pleased with what we’ve achieved. The place is stunning and we’ve done justice to its rich history and preserved the pub and the building for future generations to enjoy.”
