Iconic pub in Northampton town centre celebrates second birthday under well-known owners

Shipmans, a historic pub in Northampton town centre, is celebrating its second anniversary this month under the ownership of the McManus Pub Company.

Located on the Drapery, the pub reopened in July 2022 following years of closure and a significant makeover.

Originally closed in 2014, The Shipmans was acquired by the McManus Pub Company in 2015, which invested in restoring the iconic venue with a history spanning 233 years. The transformation aimed to blend historical charm with modern appeal.

Tom McManus, area manager for McManus Pub Company, spoke with the Chronicle and Echo about the pub’s progress and challenges over the past two years.

He said: “We’re really pleased with what we have been able to do with it. The feedback from customers has been really, really positive. Over the two years, from a review point of view, I think we’re the top-rated pub in Northampton on socials. So we’re clearly doing something right but I think the challenge is getting enough people through the doors in the weekdays at the moment. We’re really excited about Market Square opening up in September and what that could do for us."

Regarding the Market Square refurbishment, Tom continued: “They’ve put lots of effort into making the Market Square appeal to people. I was in Granary Square in King’s Cross at the weekend...if it’s anything like that then it will be a huge success. There’s so much potential for it. It will be interesting to see. From a business point of view, we think there’s a huge opportunity if we can get the town looking prettier and more people into the town centre.”

Initially, The Shipmans focused heavily on food but has since shifted to a more drink-centric model. The new bar-driven menu includes homemade items like grilled cheese toasties, scotch eggs, pork pies, and sausage rolls. The pub’s cocktail offerings have been particularly successful, with sales three times higher than at other McManus sites.

Tom said: “Cocktails have been a huge success. When I compare our cocktail sales in that site across the business, we’ve sold triple the amount of cocktails in Shipmans compared to our other sites. That’s been really good. High-quality cocktails. We have a barman who does cocktail flaring, it’s a bit of theatre and it’s really great. We have a really good team here. That side of it’s been really good.”

However, attracting weekday traffic remains tough. To tackle this, Shipmans will be bringing back a real ale tap in September. Tom said: “Getting people through the door has been difficult as there’s less footfall around that area at the moment. The crowd we’re trying to attract is not in town at the moment. I think it will come. Even though real ale didn’t sell a lot before, people have been asking for it. We hope that reintroducing it will help boost mid-week trade. We’re also working on new ideas to attract weekday customers.”

The pub aimed to tap into the Cultural Quarter but has faced difficulties in increasing its visibility. Tom said: “We definitely wanted to tap into the improvements in the Cultural Quarter and be part of growing that out of the St Giles Street area. I think to an extent it’s worked, we probably haven’t been as successful as we’d have liked to have been in getting the name out there. We still have people who come through the door and say ‘I had no idea this was here’.”

For more information, visit Shipmans Northampton on Facebook here.