By Jonny Irving

Last updated at 13:11, Thursday, 14 March 2013

A revamped Carlisle pub will be reopened tomorrow with some of its oldest patrons cutting the ribbon.

The Apple Tree (formerly Pippins) on Lowther Street, Carlisle

The owners of the Apple Tree, formerly known as Pippins on Lowther Street, have asked Arthur Armstrong, who has been drinking in the pub for over 60 years, and his wife Kath to officially reopen the pub.

The couple will arrive in a golden Rolls Royce and cut the ribbon to open the refurbished pub at 5pm.

It originally opened as the Apple Tree in 1926 and was renamed Pippins in the mid-1980s. The reopening will see the pub revert to its original name.

The pub has undergone a £150,000 refit with a new bar and toilets plus new fittings and tables, chairs and carpets.

Laura Murray, team leader at the pub, said she thought it would be a success.

“We are hoping to be able to attract some new people in the pub and a different clientele,” she said. “While we will still be catering for the ones we already have, the new theme will be something similar to a John Barras pub.

“There will also be a new food menu coming in April to add something extra.”

The former design of the pub came from the days when it was part of the State Management Scheme, with Harry Redfern producing the design. The upstairs of the pub remains in its original state.

Phil Tuer, Solway pubs liaison officer for the Campaign for Real Ale, said: “It’s nice to know they are reverting to the original name. When you take a step back and look at the pub you can tell it is very much a Harry Redfern design.”

The Government scheme saw them take over the brewing, distribution and sale of liquor in designated regions.

Pubs came under their control with the aim of reducing drunkenness and its effects on the arms industry.

The Carlisle and Gretna area was the centre of the scheme, with Cromarty Firth in Northern Scotland and the London area of Enfield also part of the initiative, which finished in the early 1970s.

The Apple Tree will now be open between 10am and 11pm on weekdays and until midnight on Friday and Saturdays.

First published at 13:09, Thursday, 14 March 2013
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk