A historic pub in Durham is set to reopen as a new pub, restaurant, and aparthotel. The Court Inn, on Court Lane, closed in 2020 after being in operation for around 150 years. It will reopen as The Court on Friday, with its upper floors transformed into an aparthotel called The Sanctuary Knocker.
£3.3m transformation project
Businessmen Imad Ali, Richard Nellis, and Terry Haley have combined their experience in property development, construction, and hospitality for the £3.3m project. They have previously been involved in projects including The Drunken Duck in Durham, Hibou Blanc and The Grey Owl in Newcastle, and Black Rabbit in Chester-le-Street.
Mr Nellis said: "We didn’t want to spend all this time and money just to create another pub in Durham. From the beginning, the ambition has been to make somewhere people walk into and immediately see and feel the quality."
Design and dining details
"We’ve obsessed over the detail. The timber is real hardwood, the materials have been chosen for their quality and we’ve allowed the design to evolve as we’ve built it rather than simply following a standard fit-out plan," Mr Nellis added. "The same applies to the food. This isn’t about being fine dining or making things unnecessarily complicated. It’s about really good food, done properly, in surroundings that match that quality."
Newcastle-based Collective Design has worked on the design of the new venue, which has been fitted out by Mr Nellis’s company, the Abbey Group. It will include a bar and restaurant, and will create around 20 new jobs.
Aparthotel and community impact
The aparthotel, which opened earlier this year, has four luxury suites with views across Durham and its historic cityscape.
Mr Haley, who has operated hospitality businesses in Durham city centre for the past seven years, said: "The Court Inn was part of Durham for generations and when it closed it left a gap. These landmark venues are part of the fabric of the city and there has always been a feeling that this one should come back."
"But it had to come back in the right way. We want The Court to be a destination, not somewhere people visit once because they’re curious to see what has happened to the old pub," he continued. "We’ve tried to create an elevated version of a traditional Durham establishment. It can be somewhere for a special occasion and somewhere you come for a drink after work. You can have dinner here, meet friends, bring the family or spend the whole evening here."
"The quality and service have to be exceptional, but it still has to feel welcoming and accessible. That’s the balance we’ve worked incredibly hard to achieve."
