Hereford distillery opens tap room in former toilet block

Paul Kenyon started distilling gin during lockdown

A former public toilet has been reopened to the public as a tap room by a local distiller.

The Golden Wake micro-distillery was set up by Paul Kenyon in the toilet block next to Hereford Swimming Pool.

He has been in the brewing business for 35 years, but started making gin during lockdown and said the time had come to "move things forward".

Mr Kenyon said a lot of changes had been made and visitors might be surprised by the size of the building.

He admitted that the toilets in St Martin's Avenue had once been "terrible", but it was also ideal for his distilling needs because it had drainage, electricity and water.

After removing the cubicles, he had it redecorated with reclaimed materials, including tin from a friend's farm and reused coffee sacks.

He said his aim was to create a place where people could chat and drink without distractions.

"We want people to come and sit and have a nice quiet drink, we're not having any music or machines or television," he said.

The Golden Wake distillery is based inside the former toilets on St Martin's Avenue in Hereford

After starting his gin distilling during lockdown, he said he found the toilet block while looking for bigger premises and was "very surprised" by the size of the building.

He said: "It didn't look as big with the cubicles in, but once we'd sorted that out, it's quite a big building, I think people will be more than surprised by the size of it."

Mr Kenyon plans to serve his own gin, vodka and spiced rum.

The application for a licence for the tap room had received objections from people concerned about an increase in crime, noise and its position close to a swimming pool, park and play area.

But Herefordshire Council granted it a licence to operate from 10:00 to 22:00, for seven days a week, without any music.