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It’s all happening in St John’s Street

Luke Kendrick

Luke Kendrick heard about the refurbishment plans for The Retreat. Like a good neighbour, he didn’t want to let the street down and he set about decorating his own front door.

Our plans for the works at The Retreat should be finalised and agreed with the contractors next week. The project has already been approved by the Brewery.

At the moment, we expect to be closing in the second half of September for about four weeks. We will be able to provide more precise dates soon.

Preserving the Heritage

What work will be carried out? Well, we don’t want to give away too much at the moment, but the carpet is going, the toilets will dramatically change and there are many more things on the list as well.

We are proud that The Retreat is a Real Heritage Pub in the eyes of CAMRA and we will be ensuring that the essential character of the pub will be preserved.

Lost Property

lost property at The Retreat pub in Reading

If any of the clothing above is yours, now is a good time to collect it.

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The Retreat is a Heritage Pub

The Retreat featured in Real Heritage Pubs of the South East

The Retreat has been added to the heritage pub guide published by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). The Retreat is the only pub in Reading to be included.

Britain’s Historic Pub Interiors, a part of CAMRA, lists unspoilt pubs and is the definitive guide to the nation’s most important historic pub interiors and the best historic examples we have left.

This list has been compiled by CAMRA’s Pub Heritage Group and is the product of over thirty years of careful research. It identifies pubs with intact traditional interiors, or which have features and rooms of national importance.

In parallel to this, CAMRA has now covered every corner of the UK with the publication of its latest pub guide, ‘Real Heritage Pubs of the South East,’ featuring The Retreat.

‘As a period of great uncertainty for the nation’s pubs hopefully comes to a close, it’s a real delight to release the final instalment of the Real Heritage Pub guide series.

‘This guide highlights the best-preserved pubs across the South East region, allowing you to experience pub history even if you’re unable to visit them in person right now. It also champions the need to celebrate, understand and protect the genuine pub heritage we have left.’

Editor and historic pubs expert Geoff Brandwood

You can learn more about the book here, and revenue raised from the title goes back into CAMRA campaigning.”

This news can also be seen on the Get Reading website.

Brian Moignard, the landlord of The Retreat, was interviewed about this news by Phil Kennedy on BBC Berkshire on 29 June 2020.