Enderby House - Harrison UK

UK

Enderby House

A Maritime Story Reawakenedconveying the rich history of the Enderby family.

ClientYoungs & Co's Brewery plc.

Studio team Birmingham, UK

Services Architecture Interior Design

Size128 covers

AwardsRestaurant and Design Awards shortlisted

Set beside the Thames in Greenwich, Enderby House is a Grade II-listed building shaped by the legacy of the Enderby family who were adventurers, merchants, and maritime pioneers whose voyages once connected Britain to the wider world. When Young’s invited us to bring the building back to life, our ambition was clear: not to preserve history as a backdrop, but to reanimate it as experience. This was a project rooted in design transformation designed to restore the character, revealing narrative, and creating a place where guests could feel the story unfold around them.

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On the ground you are greeted with a dramatic bar area and ceiling inspired by the carcass of a ship with large feature light fittings.

Design as a Maritime Narrative

We approached Enderby House as a sequence of chapters rather than a single space. Inspired by the Enderby family’s global journeys, the design weaves together maritime heritage, Victorian detail, and contemporary craft into a layered spatial narrative.
Two existing buildings were carefully unified and extended with a striking glass addition. Inside, the journey is deliberate and immersive from ship-like ceilings and rope chandeliers that glow with warmth, to tropical planting and colonial references on the terrace, and into intimate lounges filled with collected objects and curious finds.

A Living Legacy

Enderby House does more than reflect its past. It reshapes it into something guests can explore, experience, and remember. A place where a simple visit becomes a journey, and where history is felt rather than framed. A pub with history and imagination at its core — storied, sensory, and designed to linger.

Moments of Discovery to Reward Curiosity.

At the heart of the building sits the Octagon Room which was once Samuel Enderby’s office retained as a centrepiece overlooking the Thames. Curved doors and a grand fireplace anchor the space in its past. Elsewhere, private dining rooms are concealed behind cupboard doors, revealing panelled interiors, exotic artefacts, and unexpected details such as elephant-head handles.
These moments are designed to reward curiosity — creating surprise without spectacle, and intrigue without excess.

Key Features

The ground floor spaces softens towards the outside terrace area which with colonial style furniture and planting.

The artwork and wall finishes creates a welcoming inside/outside area which has references to worldwide travel.

The Octagon Room, on the first floor was the actual office of Samuel Enderby where he used to watch his ships coming up from the Thames

The Snug area is a comfortable escape, it’s a collector’s room which incorporates objects the Enderby’s would have brought back from their travels

The property consisted of two separate buildings which required extensive alterations to incorporate a new modern glass box extension

“Designing Enderby House was a rare opportunity for Harrison to weave history into every corner of this historic space while creating something fresh and welcoming. Across three floors, we wanted each area to tell its own story yet feel connected through the building’s history and heritage.

For me, the joy of Enderby House was in balancing the opulence of Victorian style with playful, contemporary layers. The result is a building that doesn’t just preserve history, but makes it feel alive for everyone who walks through its doors everyday.”

Jackie Mingo, Associate Director and Team Leader

Our design incorporated elements that the Enderby brothers collected along their travels taking customers on an inspiring and educational journey which conveyed the rich history of the family.

Subtle references to the industrial history with the use of heritage paint finishes.

Strong, rich green and monochrome finishes all inspired by the Victorian era gave a sense of opulence, as did the use of boId wallpapers to add vibrancy and interest.