Unearthed Advertiser photos from 1997 offer glimpse into past of Castle Rock and Yupp Beer’s The Fox and Crown pub, Newark
A series of photos from 1997 have been unearthed, offering a fascinating glimpse into a pub’s past.
During a recent clear out of filing cabinets, staff at The Fox and Crown, Appletongate, discovered a collection of photographs taken by the Advertiser during renovation work which saw the pub transformed into the space it is today.
Assistant manager Max Greely said: “They were just under a load of files, in an envelope that said ‘photos’ on it. We couldn’t figure out some of them to start with.”
There was also a selection of photos of regulars from back in the day, general manager Dan Brown added, and they enlisted the help of many of them to identify the people in the photographs.
Max added: “We’ve had a lot of regulars come back in, lots of people have seen the photos and they could actually remember it like that, to the exact day.”
The cellar, flat above the pub, building work and plans can be seen in the photos, with many of the spaces still recognisable today.
The Castle Rock and Yupp Beer pub has a mixed history, having been created as a Castle Rock pub in 1997 when the premises of an interior furnisher and the adjacent building were combined to create the venue as it is currently laid out. Part of the building had many years ago operated as a pub by the same name.
For many years it was a popular watering hole, with regular patrons throughout the years including Newark’s police officers, Advertiser reporters, members of the rugby club, and associates of Chris Holmes — Castle Rock’s founder, who also opened the Old Kings Arms in Newark before creating his real ale pub empire.
Unfortunately The Fox and Crown closed in 2020 after 23 years of service, as the effect of the pandemic hit the hospitality industry hard — but not all was lost.
In 2022 Castle Rock Brewery and Yupp Beer joined forces to bring the pub back to life, blending the traditional charm of the pub with fun arcade additions and a whole host of craft beer. 2023 then saw the introduction of much-loved mexican eatery Holy Moly at the venue.
Dan said: “It’s going from strength to strength, we’ve got a lot of old faces and a lot of new ones.
“There’s been a big swing towards craft beer and the food is going really well.”
Castle Rock operations director Vicki Saxby added: “[In the 90s and 2000s] it was very, very busy. Obviously the police station was just on the corner of the road, and we had a lot of people associated with the rugby club and Chris Holmes.
“He developed pubs across Nottingham and then came back to Newark to open The Fox and Crown — regulars from the Kings Arms were excited to see it open.
“The philosophy of Castle Rock has always been to serve great beer in friendly surroundings, but what has changed is beer styles.”
The Fox and Crown has an upcoming Pride celebration in collaboration with the Loose Cannon from June 28 to June 30, and live music from Jason Rungapadiachy on June 30 at 7pm.
