New home for Pompey floodlights as part of Fratton pub’s revamp
Four floodlight casings saved and donated for £100,000 refurbishment
A PUB in Fratton has saved a piece of Portsmouth FC history – as it uses former Fratton Park floodlights in its £100,000 refurbishment.
For years, The Shepherd's Crook in Goldsmith Avenue has been a regular haunt of Pompey fans and players.
Now the pub's latest decorations mean Fratton Park fans can continue to drink beneath their beloved stadium’s famous floodlights.
The lights were installed in the stadium in 1962 thanks to a fans’ fundraising campaign, but they were taken down last year after the introduction of new lighting around the stands.
Four floodlight casings have been saved and donated to the pub, which is covered in club memorabilia.
The pub is close to finishing refurbishment works that began during the first national lockdown, according to general manager Lawrence Hall.
The 25-year-old said: ‘We did the refurb in the first lockdown, and now we’re taking down some walls to fit even more seating. We have re-done the entire floor and the garden.
‘Luckily Portsmouth FC CEO Mark Catlin is a brilliant guy. We reached out and asked if some of the floodlights would be available - and they said we could have them.
‘We completely re-did the electrics – and they look pretty good.’
The pub will also reopen with a renovated kitchen space, which was hastily assembled in order to serve ‘substantial meals’ during Covid-19 tier restrictions last year.
Lawrence said: 'It's been hard. In the second lockdown we scrambled a kitchen together in five or six days that wasn't exactly ideal.
‘Now we're moving that to another room.’
The historic pub will continue to serve a selection of pies from Pieminister, as well as hosting BBQs when match days return, and Lawrence has plans to install a pizza oven onsite.
The Pompey-focused boozer’s new look proved to be the perfect backdrop for new BT Sports football documentary ‘Ours’, which sat down with Portsmouth SOS co-founder Bob Beech earlier this year.
Lawrence said: ‘Bob’s a great guy and a great friend of the pub – it was his idea to use the pub for the interview.’
The Shepherd’s Crook will reopen its 114-person capacity garden on April 12, with tables already fully booked for the day.