The Partners Room in The Counting House after conversion

As with most pubs, The Counting House in central London has the enviable problem of never having enough function room space during key trading times, but a recent discovery has solved this predicament.

Hidden away behind a door on the mezzanine balcony lay a treat just in time for the New Year — a well-sized room, perfect for functions, if it wasn’t already full.

“We always knew there had been a room up there, but it took a fresh pair of eyes from our operations manager Simon for us to have a really close look,” said pub manager Colin George.

“The room was formerly a plant room from the 1960s and 1970s, where machines pumped fresh air in from the outside and removed the smoke from the building, but since then it has sat unused. Due to the amount of old equipment, it was impossible to see into the room, but after looking at the original bank blueprints it became evident it was a good sized room.”

Once the machinery was removed, Colin found that many of the original building’s features were still in place, including some very ornate cornicing. “As the building was grade II listed when Fuller’s took over, it took quite a lot of discussions with the council to get planning permission,” said Colin, who has been at The Counting House for eight years.

“Eventually we were able to get all the old equipment out and knock the wall through to the mezzanine balcony, which meant we could create a modern, spacious function room which can hold either 26 people seated in complete privacy with the concertina doors closed, or up to 50 people with the exclusive use of a private balcony.”

The room was renamed The Partner’s Room, after the four partners of the original Prescott bank, was opened in late November and has been getting booked steadily ever since.

“It’s a fantastic and popular addition to one of our flagship pubs in the centre of London,” said Colin, “and goes to show you should always ask the question: ‘What’s behind the door?’.”

The room in its original state

This blog post is not by Wobbly Wallet but originally appeared on Beer Today: http://beertoday.co.uk/?p=12048