Closed for good? Sad end for iconic Corby pub

The Open Hearth pub was the first new pub to be built in Northamptonshire after the second world war.

The venue, which sits proudly by a roundabout in Studfall Avenue, first opened its doors in 1950 and was a popular watering hole until it closed its doors in January 2014.

Its frontage has remained relatively unchanged since then.

It has been marketed by several different agents but they have been unable to sell it, and now a planning application has been submitted for it to become seven flats and two houses.

But developers could have a fight on their hands as the pub lies in the Lloyds conservation area so has an extra layer of protection from development.

Neighbours say the building has become a magnet for anti-social behaviour in recent months.

James Bramhall, 34, said: “I don’t think it will ever be a pub again.

“I would like to see it re-open but I don’t think that’s realistic.

“There have been a lot of kids hanging around at the back of it and it’s become a bit of a dump unfortunately.

“I’d rather it was used for something than just being a big eyesore on the roundabout. It doesn’t look great.”

The pub was named after a particular method of steelmaking using an open hearth which was commissioned at Corby steelworks in 1949, just a year before the pub was opened.

During the 1970s it was a hugely popular music venue run by Corby nightlife legend Bip Wetherell.

It was closed for refurbishment in 2007 and had another facelift in 2011 but several management teams failed to make a go of it.

It also became a live music venue but shut permanently in early 2014.

You can view and comment on the planning application here

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