The New Clarence is closed. Help us save The New Clarence.
"It was a pub people talked to each other in, whether they knew each other or not." (Anon.)
"The fact that we are a small group and couldn't afford to hire a venue for meetings meant that The New Clarence was perfect." (C.M.)
"[The New Clarence] helped us create our comedy night, which has benefited so many local acts get stage time, and also brought many comedians from out of town..." (Stu. N.)
"Had we not been able to rehearse at the New Clarence, our music group...would not have existed by the time the competition came to Hull earlier this year". (John.R.)
The New Clarence closed it's doors on Friday 30th June 2023, as a result of rapidly declining trade, largely as a result of Admiral Taverns' decision to sell the pub. Since then there has been a groundswell of support for the idea of saving the pub, hopefully to re-open it as a community owned and managed venture - which would be a vastly more advantageous fiscal model for the pub in these difficult times. I have been asked to help with the campaign to save The New Clarence, and of course I will. But right now we are little more than what you might call a "core group" of supporters. Edit: We have an established core group who are mucking in and getting things done, plus we now have £10k worth of professional advice funded by Coops UK Business Support Programme, and through that the support of someone who has guided nearly 50 other pubs through this process. Nonetheless feel free to offer your services too, it's going to be your pub as much as anyone else's!
Going forward we still need more support - particularly in terms of people with relevant skills or experience to help the campaign; we are on a learning curve and anyone who can help us negotiate that curve would be making a particularly valuable contribution. Plus at the end of the day, the more people we have visibly supporting us, the better our chances of reaching at least part of our funding target through grants and match funding.
How can I help?
Initially you could help by telling us more about your relationship to the pub, how you might relate to it in the future (hopefully!), and what, if any, support you can offer. You can do this by filling in a brief (5 minutes or so) survey. You could also share that survey with friends, family, colleagues etc. (you could use the QR code!)
Share our survey: Download the QR code.
Please note: we want to actively discourage people from criticising the new owners. We accept that they are long standing Hull business people, with a legitimate business model. That recognition and our desire to keep the pub as a pub, need not be mutually exclusive.
Thank you for your support!
The things we did together...
Local history nights
Band nights
Science talks
Student music nights
Comedy nights
Band rehearsals
Choir practices
Poetry workshops
Comedy workshops
Acting workshops
Arts group meetings
Adult fans of LEGO nights
Charity meetings (Hull DGR raised £19,000 this year)
Charity race nights
War games day
Umpires Association meetings
Fishing club meetings
Business reunions
CAMRA meetings
CAMRA socials
Forces reunions
Mental health group meetings
Ukrainian refugee support meetings
Trades union meetings
Local political party meetings
Chess club meetings
Local residents association meetings
Smiel Moots (Tolkien Society meetings)
Samaritans Volunteer training event
Beer festivals
Gigs
Open mics
Sing-arounds
Folk nights
Acoustic nights
Rock nights
Film nights
Quiz nights
Darts matches
Birthday parties
Engagement parties
Wedding receptions
Anniversaries
Retirement parties
Wakes
Christmas parties
Having fun and supporting each other...