A Chester pub which underwent a six-figure transformation so it could welcome customers once more has received an award.

The Lock Vaults on Hoole Lane underwent an extensive refurbishment in 2022 and 2023. Those efforts have been recognised by Chester Civic Trust, with a 2024 award presented to licensee Carl Burleigh by Trust Chair Christine Russell.

The Lock Vaults before its transformation.

The Lock Vaults before its transformation.

The £400,000 redevelopment has been a long process. Carl had driven past the pub for many years seeing it boarded up. His wife worked at NWS which was just down the road. Two years ago he made the commitment to take on the redevelopment of the pub and run it.

Previously The Lock Vaults had a mock Tudor exterior and was boarded-up with peeling paint, graffiti and weeds but has been remodelled with a charcoal grey and wood effect exterior, new roof, bi-fold café style windows and brighter lighting.

Inside, brickwork, wood floors and decorative tiles were exposed which, together with old photographs of Chester, give the pub a 'vintage feel'. A brighter entrance leads to a lounge area with a working fire and two bar areas, both showing Sky Sports.

The Lock Vaults after its transformation.

The Lock Vaults after its transformation.

Carl Burleigh said of redeveloping The Lock Vaults: “The biggest challenges were refitting the cellar and kitchens, installing a new cable to give three phase power and delays on planning permission and installation for the bi-fold windows.”

Christine Russell, Chair of Chester Civic Trust, said: “We want to encourage investment into our city and particularly to recognise great projects that breathe new life into Chester and its communities. This is an excellent example of this and we applaud Carl and his colleagues.”

The licensees of The Lock Vaults are Carl Burleigh, from the Wirral, and David Keith, from Liverpool. The pub is owned by Star Pubs and Bars, a Heineken company.

Carl has had a mixture of different people return to the pub recently having heard of its redevelopment, in particular a couple who got married here in the 1950s and currently live in Oxfordshire.

The cottages opposite were refurbished recently also adding to the regeneration of this area of Hoole. Carl is hoping to take responsibility for a patch of land by the front of the pub for a pavement café opposite. A pavement licence is being applied for.

The dog-friendly pub serves pizzas and Pieminister pies, plus traditional pub grub in the evenings. The bar is stocked with three cask ales, three craft beers on tap, and a range of lagers, wines and spirits with a coffee machine.

A choir in Hoole will sing Christmas carols on weekends in December.

The pub is working with charities, including the Martyn Gallier Foundation, and is doing dog walks three to four times a year from the pub which has paid enough for a suicide prevention pack for the foundation.

For more information about the pub, visit https://www.facebook.com/thelockvaults