The hotel steeped in history takes a giant leap into the unknown
The world-renowned architect Norman Foster once said: “As an architect, you design for the present, with an awareness of the past, for a future which is essentially unknown.”
When Robert Cook built the Swan Hotel in Harleston in 1551 – less than two years after being pardoned for his part in Kett’s Rebellion, where a small army of commoners revolted against the state – he had certainly never envisaged it would remain standing half a millennium later.
In 2000, after moving to Norfolk, Lake District native Robin Twigge purchased The Swan, alongside a number of other – notably less remarkable – hotels in the region.
“I sold the others, but kept The Swan – it’s got some magic about it,” said the career hotelier, now in his 70s. “It’s got so much history. It’s unbelievable. You walk into the place and it’s got this ‘wow’ factor.”
With 14 rooms and a separate bar, the three-star hotel has earned its reputation not only as one of the finest places to eat and sleep in Harleston, but also as a popular watering hole for locals – in keeping with its legacy, which Mr Twigge described as “a den of iniquity”.
The current lockdown, and the following, slightly apprehensive reopening, has given the hotel a chance to reinvent itself, which has led to an indefinite closure of the bar.
Full capacity has gone from around 150 to 50 and, with social distancing measures in place, the atmosphere feels markedly different.
“You walk into the atmosphere of a restaurant now, and not a pub, and I really like that,” said Mr Twigge.
“I think, overall, people will think it’s a good idea.”
Manager Vicki Eke, 54, added: “Because we’ve been established for so long, it will take a little time for people to understand the rules. This is a place none of us thought we would be in.”
“We’re living in an unknown world right now,” added Mr Twigge.
Whether the bar will reopen in months to come is yet to be seen – true to Norman Foster’s adage, changes such as these are made for the present, because now more than ever, the future is utterly unknown.
