The Waterman's Arms

The Waterman's Arms in Pembroke is an ancient building, it's origins being lost in the mists of time, but it is known to have been a public house for more than 300 years. It is situated right on the river, in the shadow of Pembroke Castle.

The name of the pub derives from the practice of handing beer through the window to boatmen, and this is one of only 7 pubs in the United Kingdom with this name.

Although modest in size, the pub has always been popular and is regularly crowded. In order to increase the available space, a large balcony was added, extending above the river estuary. With the customer capacity doubling, the kitchen facilities could no longer effectively cope.RACS were asked to design and install a new catering facility, utilising the existing space, extended by knocking through a wall into an additional storage area.  In doing this, the kitchen was to be out of use for the minimum possible time, and the total space available could not be specified until the wall was demolished, during the latter part of the building programme.

The original plans for the modification were based upon architects drawings, which once the demolition was completed were found to be inaccurate. The nice square corners showing on the plan were anything but, requiring modifications to the new purpose built work surfaces.

Undaunted by this challenge, RACS have provided a modern facility, utilising some of the original equipment, and providing the capacity to service the lounge with 40 seats, the balcony with 50 seats and the public bar, both at lunch time and in the evening.

The kitchen now contains a twin deck gas pizza oven, 2 microwaves and a 6 burner range. All shelving and work surfaces are in stainless steel, and specially fabricated to fit exactly. Included within the job was the relaying of the floor and the wall cladding. From the completion of the demolition work, the kitchen was made fully functional in one week.