Dambusters Inn Scampton
The Home of Greg’s Brewery
23, High Street, Scampton, Lincolnshire, LN1 2SD — Telephone: 01522 731333
INN FRONT and Carrying On in 2021
A Record of Progress during the Construction of an Improvement to the Dambusters Inn (2021)
Planning Permission for the construction work to begin was received on Wednesday 20 January 2021.
We shall record progress on this page as the work proceeds.
The Landlord, Greg Algar, decided in early 2018 that he wanted to enhance the facade of the Dambusters Inn with a suitable structure to provide weather cover and increased seating capacity.
The inital ambition was to substantially 'upgrade' the existing timber-built terraced area. The design process was not a hurried one and the early ideas and suggestions milled around eventually leading to the view that a structure making a bolder physical statement might be developed.
It was.
Steve Hanks of 'Flare Visual Architecture' has designed an extension to the building that will extend forwards from the existing facade of the Pub. The existing exterior terrace (of timber construction) will be removed and the extension — the 'additional room' — will be built in its place.
The space will provide much needed additional accommodation for dining as well as hosting for small-scale events.
Joe Winter and his team at Joe Winter Building Services Ltd will build it.
The same team completed a major and extensive reconfiguation of the upper structure of the Pub in 2019. This work provided a long overdue restructuring and upgrade to the living accommodation at first–floor level and above.
Well, here we go, then!
. . . and we extend our very best wishes for good weather and good fortune to all the talented people who are going to make it happen.
Friday — The Natural Stone Walling is Delivered
15:34 Friday 26 February 2021 – Dry weather
The natural building stone — carefully sized and stacked on timber pallets.
Thursday — Some Materials Arrived This Morning (Blocks)
14:56 Thursday 25 February 2021 – Dry weather
The window on the extreme left has been removed — the opening temporarily covered — and seven columns of blocks, neatly stacked, stand ready and waiting.
Tuesday — The Concrete Base ‘Poured’ Today
14:34 Tuesday 23 February 2021 – Dry weather
A reflective moment.
Monday — Installing Floor Insulation
14:07 Monday 22 February 2021 – Dry weather
TOP ROW PICTURES: The crushed limestone levelled and compacted and the lorry ready with the floor insulation.
MIDDLE ROW PICTURES: Laying the floor insulation and carefully cutting it to achieve an exact fit
LOWER ROW PICTURE: Trimming a final section of insulation to fit along the existing wall of the Pub and the first strip of damp proof membrane has just been rolled out ready for laying.
We anticipate that on Tuesday, 23 February, concrete to form the floor will be mixed and poured here, so obscuring all that carefully crafted preparatory work.
Saturday — the weekend off. (We’ll be Back to the Front on Monday next.)
14:55 Saturday 20 February 2021 – Dry weather on a ‘rest day’ and all is quiet on the building site.
UPPER–LEFT PICTURE: Sample stone walling illustrating how the exterior walls will be built.
UPPER–RIGHT and LOWER–LEFT PICTURES: Damp Proof Membrane rolled out onto the walls and weighted down with bricks. The heaped, crushed limestone for the foundation ready to apply.
LOWER–RIGHT PICTURE: A general view showing the crushed limestone heaped ready at the front of the site.
At the Point of Pointing the First–Laid Bricks (and blocks)
14:03 Friday 19 February 2021 – Dry weather and the first three courses of brick beautifully laid and pointed.
Three Pictures in a Row
14:35 Wednesday 17 February 2021 – Ground work.
Also, some 'Sample Wall' just laid.
Preparing Trench fill foundation.
Wednesday 17 February 2021 –
Viewed from the Pub looking towards the road.
Cleaning down the concrete mixer.
Down to Earth
13:53 Monday 15 February 2021 – With the area mostly cleared.
The decking has been removed and stored off–site where it will be de–nailed, de–screwed and given a good old, ‘Wash and Brush–Up’.
Greg Algar (the Pub landlord) thinks that he may be able to rescue some of his Hop Plants from their erstwhile home in that ridge of soil.
Once refurbished, the decking is to be reutilised in the garden to the rear of the Pub.
A Floor Fondly Remembered
15:42 Sunday 07 February 2021 – The lifting of the decking proceeds.
A Floor that has served us well and supported many happy people on so many happy occasions
Visitors may recall the hops that once flourished in that bank of soil that runs along the front of the decking area.
A Sample Panel of the Wall
12:58 Friday 05 February 2021 – This is interesting. One of the tasks in this project is described in Item 4. of the Planning Permission.
A Sample Section of what will be the exterior wall of the building will be built within the wood frame shown in the picture, so that we’ll be given an ‘illustration’ of how, when built, the new wall will look. Good, eh?
EXTRACT FROM THE PLANNING PERMISSION —
4. No development, other than to foundations level, shall take [place] until a 1m square sample panel of the proposed new stone work, showing the coursing of the stonework, colour, style and texture of the mortar and bond of the stonework have been provided on site for the inspection and approval in writing by the Local Planning Authority (the sample is to be retained on site until the new development is completed). The development shall thereafter be constructed in accordance with the approved details.”
The Decking is Going
15:57 Thursday 04 February 2021 – Viewed looking towards the road from an upper–floor window. The top layer of decking was removed today.
A First Step
14:03 Wednesday 03 February 2021 – A single-handed start today on the task of dismantling the timber-built terrace. The anticipated start on Monday last had to be postponed.
Tomorrow We Begin
13:42 Sunday 31 January 2021 – This morning, Greg and Steve removed the furniture from the existing timber terrace and stacked it all over to the right–hand side of the car. On Monday, 01 February 2021, work will begin to remove the timber terrace so that the building process can commence.
Currently, the Pub is closed due to the Coronavirus (COVID–19) National lockdown guidance.