A MUSEUM in Reading will not be affected by the impending closure of a riverside pub and will reopen for its summer season next month.
Reading Borough Council has confirmed to Reading Today that the Blake’s Lock centre will remain open when The Narrowboat shuts at the end of March.
The pub had traded as a Bel & The Dragon venue until last summer, when it was rebranded and given a makeover.
In recent months, the team had made the venue family-friendly, hosting coffee mornings and quiz events for mums, as well as comedy nights, plays and music events.
But at the end of the month, pub owners Fuller’s is to call time at the bar and use the site as a training centre for its kitchen teams.
In a statement released last week, a spokesperson said: “Despite repositioning the pub last year, the site is sadly currently economically unviable – a situation that we know will be compounded by the closure of the adjacent bridge–however, it is a great site and over time, the area will develop further.
“To that end, we have decided to close the site to the public from 31 March 2024 and utilise this great space to build a hub for our food team and our Chefs’ Guild.”
They continued: “This dedicated facility will benefit our teams, help us create and perfect amazing dishes for our menus and give us a fantastic centre to develop our chefs of the future.
“Customers will be able to see the benefits of this activity in The Three Guineas at Reading station, which is just a 10-minute walk away, and at pubs such as The Bull in nearby Sonning.”
The site was once part of the Huntley & Palmer’s biscuit factory complex, and is part of Reading’s heritage.
When the area was converted into a pub, Reading Borough Council made it a condition of the lease that there would be a riverside museum on site, and this is unaffected by the pub’s closure.
A council spokesperson said: “Riverside Museum at Blake’s Lock remains a valued and important part of Reading’s heritage where visitors can learn the story of a town built on two rivers, the Kennet and the Thames.
“Despite the news of the imminent closure of the Narrowboat pub, and apparent plans for the leaseholders to turn the site into a training space, the Council remains the owner of the site and, importantly, there remains a condition on the lease of full public access through to the Museum.
“The Council is making contact with the leaseholder to understand its proposals in that context.
“The Museum has a full programme of community exhibitions planned when it reopens in early April through to October.”
