Essex County Cricket Club player Nick Browne has pulled the first pint at the newly-re-opened Shepherd Neame pub The Bellhouse, in Leigh-on-Sea.
Nick Browne behind the bar at The Bellhouse, Leigh-on-Sea
The venue has undergone a £300,000 transformation and was officially re-opened by chief executive Jonathan Neame.
Built as a hunting lodge around the 16th century, The Bellhouse became part of the Shepherd Neame estate two years ago.
“The Bellhouse is rumoured to be a hunting lodge that was used by Henry VIII, but then we do also have about 100 other pubs that he’s rumoured to have visited!” said Jonathan Neame.
“It is a beautiful building which we were proud to take on a couple of years ago, and we are even prouder now that we have invested in this fantastic refurbishment.”
He presented a donation of £1,000 to local charity The Jude Harvey Foundation, which will go towards heart screening for 14- to 35-year-olds, to help prevent Young Sudden Cardiac Deaths. This charity was set up in memory of 19-year-old Jude, from Southend, who died after suffering a cardiac arrest in 2023.
