Is It Time Called For The Pubs Of East Reading ?



News reaches inReading that The Narrowboat (formerly Bel and the Dragon) is to shut on 30th March and be turned into a training facility for its owners, Fullers. The company changed its name and tried to turn it into a 'community pub' rather than the gastro-destination-pub that it once was.

After years of decline, where one boozer after the next gave way to nightspots and restaurants, there seems to be a revival of pubs in central Reading, with The Sun on Castle Street possibly becoming a Raymond Blanc influenced gastropub (somewhat confusingly called The Rising Sun) and The Coopers Arms in Marketplace is also said to be reopening at some point as part of a new development. But things are not looking good in East Reading.


The area has fewer and fewer watering holes - nothing like the heyday when workers used to pour out of Huntley & Palmer's, supporting many long closed hostelries, including The Dove, Anglers Arms, The Young Prince, Plasterers Arms, Rupert Arms, Coach & Horses, Printers Arms, The Carpenters Arms, College Arms, County Arms, The Beehive and The Lifeboat to name a selection within a few hundred yards of the factory gates.



Now, The Eldon (or Weather Station) and the Marquis of Granby (once owned by football boss Terry Venables who passed recently) have already gone and the Jolly Anglers (or ‘Dubai on the Kennet’) is also shuttered, with The Narrowboat on its way too. The Warwick has also ignominiously gone through being an Asian restaurant to an Indian restaurant to its current iteration as a Chinese supermarket.

Now it looks like the leases for the nearby Lyndhurst and Thirsty Bear (formerly site of The Wynford gay pub) are up for sale or lease renewal and The Lyndhurst team have decided to move on. (https://www.findmypub.com/lease-tenancy-pubs/berkshire/reading/). The Lyndhurst is renowned for its excellent food, whilst the Thirsty Bear is part of a mini concept chain owned by the Heineken brewing business, selling ‘slices’ of unusual pizzas. 

Since being taken over by Fullers and rebranding, The Narrowboat (formerly Bel & The Dragon) seemed a lot quieter and The Fisherman's Arms has also publicly stated that they are in trouble thanks to yet another extended closure of the pathway leading from the Kennet to the Thames.

Meanwhile, we understand from the owners of The Retreat that (through sheer hard work and investment) they are on the cusp of breaking even after being taken over and run by members of the local community a couple of years ago.

However, when you can buy a pint for under two quid at the nearby Back of Beyond Weatherspoons, it’s clear what is happening. Duty on alcohol under 8.5% proof was recently reduced and the government now claims that it is 11p a pint lower than in supermarkets. However, it is other crippling cost rises, particularly electricity, that seem to be the big problem at present.


No one can dispute the need for a rise in the basic minimum wage, but this has also hit pubs in a doubly whammy.

The reality is that pubs tend to succeed only when they are part of very large chains who can bulk buy and manage, or are literally run by hard working resident owners, like many of our local pubs are.

It is ironic, as more and more flats are built and there are fewer and fewer facilities, to have to ask if any East Reading pubs will survive?

 

Historic Pubs Of Reading

https://www.historypin.org/en/lost-pubs-of-reading-2

https://pubshistory.com/Berkshire/Reading/