Restoration of historic North Yorkshire inn on Hawnby Estate completed and re-opening this week

01 December 2020

The refurbishment of an historic inn in a North Yorkshire village has been completed.

The Owl at Hawnby, near Helmsley, in the heart of the North York Moors National Park, is set to open on Thursday 3 December 2020. The venue had been closed for two years.

Formerly the Inn at Hawnby, it has been transformed into a beautiful country pub and restaurant with rooms.The £650,000 restoration of the 19th century inn has included the bar, lounge, restaurant, and nine double en-suite bedrooms.

The long-term leasehold of the Owl, which remains part of the Hawnby Estate, has been bought by the Coastal and Country Inns Group.

Jamie Savile, who runs the Hawnby Estate, said: "We are absolutely delighted that the Owl is going to be managed by an accomplished company such as Country and Coastal Inns. They have a tremendous track record, with a number of other successful rural inns across the UK, and they share our enthusiasm and desire to build a sustainable and successful business.

“It goes without saying that the every effort has been made to make the Owl as safe as possible in these testing times. Social distancing, face masks and hand sanitisers are in place and we are confident that everyone who comes here will feel very comfortable, especially as we are in the middle of the countryside."

Chris Hannon, managing director of Coastal and Country Inns, added: "This is a tremendous opportunity for us – and the perfect fit for our operation. It will be the jewel in our crown and we are determined to justify the faith which Jamie and Mexborough Estates have shown in us. Hawnby is such an incredibly gorgeous village and we are determined to do it justice.

"Our aim as a company is to create a portfolio of attractive inns of which we can be very proud. We want our inns to be individual, friendly, accessible and tasteful, a far cry from the big pub chains. We also place great emphasis on using sustainable local produce – and the Hawnby Estate will be perfect for this."