Nutshell pub in Bury St Edmunds closed as asbestos is removed

The Nutshell pub in Bury St Edmunds has been closed while asbestos has been removed from the historic building.

Specialist environmental company Forest Environmental has been removing the matierials uncovered during refurbishment at the pub which is said to be the smallest in Britain.

The company’s equipment worked on site yesterday and today to clean the building of the contaminant.

A spokeswoman for Greene King which owns the pub in The Traverse said: ““As is often the case with older buildings, asbestos had been used in parts of the pub. Independent surveyors have deemed there was no risk to customers, but as a precaution, the material is being removed and the pub temporarily closed while this work is safely carried out. Bury’s most famous pub should be back to business as normal next week.”

The Nutshell was owned by the Stebbing family in the 19th century and at one time was billed as a Museum of Art and Curiosities. Visitors were offered a variety of attractions including ancient musical instruments, relics from the past wars and works of art in ivory and cardboard. It was also used early on as a fruiterers.