Nottingham’s pub scene is getting an early Christmas present, and thankfully it isn’t another Lynx Africa gift set.
The Golden Fleece is making a comeback, with plans underway to reopen the much-loved pub in December following extensive structural work to the building and its roof.
But before anyone can get back to the important business of standing at the bar and wondering whose round it is, there’s the small matter of actually refurbishing the place.
And the new team behind the Fleece have set themselves quite the challenge: a tiny budget, a very tight timeframe and some seriously big ambitions.
Rather than throwing huge amounts of cash at the makeover, the plan is to reclaim, recycle, repurpose and reuse as much as possible, bringing old materials and forgotten treasures back to life in the process.
Think less glossy identikit gastropub, more lovingly resurrected Nottingham boozer.
The idea is to make the Golden Fleece beautiful again without losing the character and community that made people love it in the first place. And that means Nottingham is being invited to get involved too.
The Fleece wants its old crowd back
The team is putting out a call to musicians, DJs, former regulars and anyone with memories of the pub to get back in touch.
If you played a gig there, ran a night, DJed behind the decks or spent considerably more time at the bar than you’d care to admit, they want to hear from you.
They’re also looking for people willing to muck in with the transformation, whether that’s wielding a paintbrush, helping with a bit of DIY, sharing creative ideas or potentially donating materials that could be reclaimed or reused.
Your nan’s avocado bathroom suite, however, is apparently where they draw the line.
The hope is that some of those unwanted bits and pieces lurking in Nottingham sheds, garages and spare rooms could end up becoming talking points inside the new-look pub.
It’s all part of an attempt to make the refurbishment sustainable, affordable and, most importantly, community-powered.
So when will the Golden Fleece reopen?
If everything goes to plan, the Golden Fleece is aiming to be back open in December, just in time for Christmas.
There will be daily updates on the refurbishment as work progresses, along with behind-the-scenes glimpses and announcements about how people can get involved on their social media channels.
For the team behind the revival, though, this appears to be about considerably more than fresh paint and getting beer flowing through the pumps again.
They want to reconnect with the people who made the Fleece what it was, bring in a new generation of regulars and restore the music, friendships and sense of community that gave the pub its character.
As they put it: ‘It takes a community to build a community.’
The Fleece is coming home, Nottingham.
