The New Clarence hits first crowdfunding milestone – now it is open to all with a HU postcode
The New Clarence in Hull with past and present committee members (Image: hullcommunitypub.com)
Hull’s first community-owned pub, The New Clarence, has opened a community share offer to fund the restoration of its upstairs function room. Early momentum has already been established after existing members funded the project’s first milestone before the campaign had even gone public.
The Hull Community Pub Society is seeking to raise between £10,000 and £100,000 through the offer, which closes on July 5. The funds will contribute to a £260,000 project to bring the pub’s stunning upstairs function room back into use as a fully accessible community events space.
The New Clarence has been part of the fabric of Hull for generations. The building served as a Hull Co-operative Society store in the 1930s before becoming one of the city’s best-loved pubs in the 1990s.
When it closed in 2023, regulars refused to accept its loss. Catherine Murray, one of the founding committee members, said: “We just stood outside a boarded-up pub and thought — we can’t let this go.
“At that point we had no idea how we would do it.” What followed was a remarkable piece of community organising. Backed by Plunkett UK, Co-operatives UK and a £300,000 grant from the previous Conservative government’s Community Ownership Fund, the Hull Community Pub Society raised a further £248,000 from over 530 members and bought the freehold of The New Clarence in February 2025.
The pub reopened in September 2025 and has traded successfully ever since. Now, with the pub on a firm footing, the Society is turning its attention to the next chapter: the restoration of the upstairs function room.
Upstairs at The New Clarence sits one of Hull’s most impressive — and currently unused — spaces. The high-ceilinged room, with its rows of period windows and exposed steel framework, has the scale and character to become a genuinely special venue, but first it needs significant investment.
The five-stage renovation plan will replace the roof and gutters, repair and soundproof the windows, install essential services, complete the main construction, and finally furnish and equip the space for community use. With full funding, the function room will create a unique community space and additional jobs in the city centre.
Crucially, the project aims to make The New Clarence the most accessible pub and events venue in Hull city centre, with a lift already installed and a second accessible toilet planned for the upper floor.
Simon Berry, chair of the Society, said: “Hull has lost so many community spaces. Church halls, community centres — they’ve gone.
“We already know the demand is there. Events are being turned away right now because the room isn’t ready.” Even in its current unrenovated state, the function room has already been used for events — including a book fair and being part of the recently relaunched Theatre Quarter beer and cider festival that gave a tantalising glimpse of what the finished space could become.
The share offer itself demonstrated remarkable early momentum. Before the public launch, existing members were given a first look — and within days they had collectively funded stage one, the essential roof and gutter works, which will cost £10,000. The offer is now open to all with shares costing £1 each.
The minimum investment is £100 for those with an HU postcode and £250 for those living outside Hull. Investors above £1,000 are expected to qualify for 30 per cent income tax relief under the EIS scheme.
The share offer is supported by potential match-funding from Hull City Council, which is considering a grant of up to £130,000 — making every pound raised through the share offer go further. You can invest at crowdfunder.co.uk/p/raise-the-roof-at-the-new-clarence and you can find out more at hullcommunitypub.com
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