Dome for Spoons

Changes for Admiral's Ilfracombe boozer

Grand plans to put a suspended ceiling inside a glass dome at one of Wetherspoons’ most historic pubs have been revealed

The scheme for The Admiral Collingwood in Ilfracombe, submitted to North Devon Council planners, would see the removal of the glazing at the lower section of the existing dome, and be filled with a built-up floor, creating a covered seating area.

The dome will have banquette seating and a central featured sculpture, creating a focal point on the existing roof top garden, allowing visitors to appreciate the exceptional view from a covered area, the statement with the planning application says.

The lower glazing of the dome would be removed to provide pub-goers with shelter from the weather on the roof garden of the Wilder Road establishment.

Before being turned into a Wetherspoon’s pub, the premises was well-known as the Collingwood Hotel, accommodating visitors for more than 130 years.

The imposing five-storey building was named after Admiral Lord Collingwood, Nelson’s second-in-command at Trafalgar, who fought just off the Spanish coast in 1805

Cuthbert Collingwood fired the first shot in the battle – one of British naval history’s most famous and crucial – and took over command of the British fleet after the fatal wounding of his friend Horatio Nelson.

North Devon Council planners will decide on the application at a later date.