The challenge was not simply to refurbish an old restaurant. It was to protect the cultural memory of a much-loved City institution while making it viable for the next generation.

The building’s significance is derived from its architectural, historical, aesthetic and communal contribution to the Bank Conservation Area. The tavern’s long history as a dining establishment, its association with City workers and its distinctive “boxes” all contribute to its heritage value. The boxes are especially important: high timber screens, benches, brass rails and narrow tables that create the intimate, communal character of the interior. They are not just furniture; they define the experience of the place.

However, the existing layout had become constrained. The booths were in places unstable, uncomfortable by modern standards and difficult to access. Some benches were shallow, some elements had been altered or repaired over time, and the arrangement did not always relate well to the windows, wall panelling or circulation routes. The existing dumb waiter also compromised the bay window and created pinch points at ground and first floor level, interrupting views into the Grill Room and affecting the way people entered and moved through the building.

The building also needed the practical infrastructure of a modern restaurant: an upgraded kitchen, improved staff areas, better WCs, improved heating and ventilation, new lighting, removal of gas installations, removal of non-historic partitions and joinery, and a layout that could support Cloth’s style of service throughout the day and evening.

The central question was therefore: how do you change enough to secure the building’s future, without losing the qualities that make it irreplaceable?

E2’s approach was grounded in detailed heritage analysis. The project began by understanding which elements carried significance, which had been altered in the 1970s and 1990s, and which changes could be made without harming the listed building. Historic drawings, previous consented works, joinery schedules, photographs and the physical fabric of the building all informed the design strategy.

The proposals recognise that Simpson’s Tavern has never been a frozen interior. It has evolved repeatedly, including major refurbishment works in 1976 and significant fire and water damage repairs in 1996, when internal joinery and booths were removed, repaired and reinstated. This history of alteration allowed E2 to develop a conservation-led strategy based on retention, repair, reuse and reversible adaptation rather than wholesale replacement.

Retaining and Reordering the Historic Boxes

The booths are the heart of the project. Rather than removing them, E2’s design carefully records, demounts, repairs, reinforces and reuses them within the building. Benches, screens, tables, legs, brass rails and associated joinery have been assessed and scheduled so that significant fabric is retained and redeployed in the proposed layout.

Where benches are extended, the intervention is designed to improve comfort while protecting historic fabric. Seat depth is increased from approximately 350mm to 450mm using a new structural ply layer beneath the historic bench fabric, with new timber carefully feathered in and stained to match. Extended benches receive new green leather upholstery to match the existing character. Screens and benches are discreetly reinforced with black cast iron brackets, additional legs and matching details, while brass hat rails continue to frame the dining experience.

The result is not a replica interior, nor a themed reconstruction. It is a working continuation of the chophouse tradition, using the existing joinery as the basis for a more comfortable, accessible and operationally successful restaurant.

Restoring the Bay Window and Improving the Entrance Experience

At ground floor, the existing dumb waiter had a negative impact on the Grill Room, the bay window and the entrance sequence. By removing it and relocating the new dumb waiter to a more suitable position away from the most sensitive historic fabric, the bay window can once again become a primary feature of the room. Views into and out of the Grill Room are improved, circulation is eased, and the entrance becomes more generous and legible.

This change is both practical and heritage led. It improves the operation of the restaurant while enhancing appreciation of the historic room, shopfront and courtyard-facing elevation.

Making the Building Work for Cloth

The basement is upgraded with a new kitchen, improved back-of-house areas, staff facilities and WCs. Existing modern partitions, outdated kitchenware and non-historic joinery are removed where appropriate, while the sub-basement remains in use for storage. The new M&E strategy is designed to reuse existing service routes as far as possible and avoid chasing into historic fabric.

At ground floor, the space is rebalanced as a pub and dining room, with improved circulation, retained booths, a new bar position and enhanced standing and accessible seating areas. At first floor, the dining rooms are reordered to provide a more comfortable and efficient seated dining experience, including improved access, a new ambulant accessible WC, a new private dining room and better use of the existing windows, grills and joinery.

The courtyard continues to support outdoor drinking, with new external lighting to the external historic fabric forming part of the wider strategy.

Cloth Cornhill gives the former Simpson’s Tavern a viable future without stripping away the qualities that made it special. The project preserves the tavern’s defining spatial experience: the timber boxes, brass rails, intimate dining rows and robust chophouse atmosphere. At the same time, it addresses the realities of a contemporary hospitality business, providing better comfort, accessibility, servicing, staff welfare and operational flow.

The removal and relocation of the dumb waiter unlock the Grill Room and bay window, improving the relationship between the courtyard and interior. The careful reordering of the booths allows the historic joinery to remain in active use rather than becoming decorative relics. The new kitchen and service upgrades support the building’s continued life as a restaurant, while the repairs to historic fabric strengthen its contribution to the Bank Conservation Area.

E2’s role has been to guide the project through the complexity of listed building consent, planning permission, heritage significance, operational need and detailed joinery adaptation. With Listed Building Consent secured and construction underway, Cloth Cornhill is now moving from careful design and heritage analysis into physical transformation.