Hotel broker Francois Sylvester, 56, died the same week the River Royal Inn was scheduled to be auctioned.

The beleaguered pub suffered shocking damage during last year’s April super storm and has been closed since. With a massive repair bill and an almost complete rebuild needed, Mr McNamara and his associate John Lidbury, made a decision to sell the business.

“When I heard there was interest from people wanting to turn it into a bed and breakfast and others not keen to renew the liquor licence I had second thoughts about the sale,” Mr McNamara said. “I knew those plans wouldn’t be what Morpeth people wanted and I knew Francois would be saying, “get into it, bring that hotel back to life.”” Mr McNamara withdrew the hotel from sale and made a commitment to resurrect it.

The new look River Royal Inn will be restored to its former glory with a twist. It will tell the story of Morpeth’s history through items of historical significance scattered around the 160-year-old property. Mr McNamara has been working with Morpeth Museum to document the town’s past as part of the rebuilding project.

“There are a lot of materials we have saved such as original timber floorboards which will be used as photo frames for historical photographs,” Mr McNamara said.

He would not disclose the cost of restoring the Swan Street premises but has been told he’s “crazy” for spending what he is on the building. “We owe it to the town. This is something Morpeth wants back and it’s something Francois would have pushed me to do. It’s a project close to my heart. It’s not about the dollar value but about bringing back to life a Morpeth institution.”

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