Bar & Restaurant – Hurley House

Hurley House is a restaurant, bar and boutique hotel set in the countryside near Henley-on-Thames. The site has been home to a public house since 1896, and when S&P took on the project, the building was run down and neglected with a history of alterations and extensions by previous owners, giving it a patchwork of built forms. The brief was to bring new life to the building through a combination of much needed repairs and upgrades to the existing fabric and sensitive alterations to the internal layout, with new extensions to the side and rear to provide additional rooms.

The building was extensively stripped back and rebuilt to increase usability and functionality. Mechanical and electrical services were improved to make a more energy efficient and sustainable structure as well as a more comfortable environment for guests. The internal layout was remodelled to improve the restaurant and bar and a new dining area and private dining spaces were added. The new kitchen and bar have been fitted with modern equipment to facilitate both an English fine dining menu as well as the unique catering requirements of Japanese cuisine.

Planning and design were sensitive to the original building and interesting features, such as exposed brickwork and open fireplaces, were retained. We worked with interior designer Summer Williams to create an internal finish of exceptional standards and every piece of joinery is bespoke, from the bar to the wall panelling and temperature-controlled wine storage. The existing staircase was reconfigured to enable better circulation and a secondary staircase was added to the rear, leading to a new basement, which houses public WCs and back of house areas.

Outside, a large terrace and dining area in the relandscaped gardens includes a bar serving food and drinks in the summer months, and these have added to the number of covers, which will help with the viability of the project.