Historic Brentwood Pub Opens New £60,000 Garden Room

A prominent Grade II listed Brentwood pub dating back to the late 1500s is opening a stunning £60,000 garden room designed to serve the local community.

The Rose & Crown on Ongar Road in Pilgrims Hatch has built the room to meet demand from residents for a space to host gatherings, while also providing additional seating for diners during busy periods. The project has also seen the installation of bike racks for local cyclists and a publicly accessible defibrillator at the front of the pub.

The new facilities are part of an ongoing investment to ensure The Rose & Crown continues to thrive. Since taking over at the end of 2022, the management team has overseen a £200,000 refurbishment, transforming The Rose & Crown from a little-used, rundown local into a popular community hub serving great home-cooked food. During that time, the pub has raised more than £7,000 for Brentwood-based charities and community organisations, including the Marillac Neurological Care Centre and Daily Bread Food Hub, and launched the annual Hatch Festival, showcasing local musicians.

Named The Hatch, the new garden room replaces two dilapidated concrete sheds and has been constructed from timber to complement the distinctive architecture of the historic pub. The beautifully furnished space can accommodate up to 60 people and is completely self-contained, with its own bar, outdoor seating area and accessible toilet. The Hatch is also equipped with large screens to show major sporting events, including the World Cup, as well as other nationally significant occasions.

Rose & Crown manager Lydia Hammond says:

"The Rose & Crown is a gorgeous old pub, but it had lost its way and was in a terrible state when we took it on. From the outset, our ambition has been to restore it to its roots as a traditional pub that is an asset to Pilgrims Hatch and somewhere the whole community can enjoy.

"It's taken a lot of TLC, but we've been supported every step of the way by the village, our fantastic regulars, the local planning authority and our contractors, and we can't thank them enough. There's a real shortage of places in the area where people can celebrate special occasions, and we've had to turn down many enquiries because we simply didn't have the space.

"We've built The Hatch to meet that need, and we hope it will be the setting for many happy memories for years to come. Since construction began, we've been inundated with enquiries for events ranging from christenings to weddings."