The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) knows what makes a great pub. The organisation has looked up and down England, in partnership with Historic England, for the most beautiful of these vintage breweries and named the very best as part of the Pub Design Awards 2025.
With the Pub Design Awards, CAMRA set out to recognise the most ‘visually stunning, historically significant and lovingly restored pubs across the UK’. There were several titles up for grabs, from ‘Best New Build’ to ‘Best Refurbishment’, but history buffs might be most interested to hear who triumphed in the ‘Historic England Conservation’ category.
This category is awarded to those who manage to ‘carefully [preserve] a pub’s historical architectural features, whilst updating and evolving its facilities to improve the viability of the building’, better than anyone else in the country. To win this, you need to give an old building a lot of TLC, modernising it without losing any of its character.
This year, the winner was… The Swan, in Stratford St Mary, Suffolk!
The Swan is in a Grade II listed property which dates back to the 16th century. It was refurbished by former London pub landlords Mark and Sophie Dorber, who got sick of city life in 2004 and headed to Suffolk. In 2012, however, they discovered the under appreciated building that would become the Swan, and, after renovating it, it’s become a community staple.
The judges were particularly impressed by a new ‘glazed conservatory housing a new bar, servery and dining area’, and noted their admiration for ‘how the contemporary design of the large extension, with an exterior finished in steel and glass, made a striking contrast between the older elements of the pub’.
Here’s a glimpse of the Swan in all its glory.
Two historical buildings were winners in the ‘Conversion to Pub Use’ category: Borough Beer House in Surrey, set in Farnham’s 1600s Town Hall Building, and Python’s Arms in Herefordshire, which used to be the Penrhos Brewery formerly owned by Monty Python’s Terry Jones (hence the name).
These joint winners were both commended for their original, rustic decor and creative nods of their historical origins such as seating modelled after municipal benches or a door handle in the shape of a python. Although the Python’s Arms is now closed, it still earns its place on this list.
Here are some photos of the Borough Beer House.
And here are some pictures of the Python’s Arms.
Elsewhere in the list, Forester in Ealing, west London, scooped the prize for ‘community local’. You can read all about Forester’s triumph on Time Out London here.
Pubs according to Time Out
Once you’ve checked out these gorgeous boozers, why not have a look at some of Time Out’s faves? Here’s our favourite pubs in the UK, some seriously stunning pubs you might never have heard of, and the best beer gardens in the country.
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