Labworth Café - 01268 515648

The Labworth Café is a pioneering modernist International style reinforced concrete building overlooking the Thames estuary at Labworth beach on Canvey Island, Essex. Built in 1932–1933 by Ove Arup to resemble the bridge of the Queen Mary, it exists as the only building solely designed by the distinguished engineer.HistoryThe café and shelter were designed while Arup worked as the architect, engineer and contractor to the London firm Christiani & Nielsen. He noted that his "place was in the office" during the project, and in retrospect deplored the cheapness and shoddiness of the materials and workmanship implemented by the firm. The building had been designed in 1932 for the tourists visiting the fast-growing island resort. The cafe was opened in 1933 as the Canvey Island Cafe but came to be known as the "Labworth Cafe" due to the large "Labworth" text – in reference to the "Labworth estate" within which the building is situated – painted around the inland facing third storey. The name "Labworth" is derived from the "Labworth farm" which the estate replaced in the early 20th century and has its origins in the Old english lobwerde: a compound of lobb; used as nickname for a spider, or meaning of heavy, clumsy mass, referring to soil, and werda meaning a low-lying marsh in the south east of England.The decline in popularity of the English seaside holiday led to the Cafe's neglect, and the building narrowly escaped demolition during the major redevelopments of the island's sea defences 1973—1982. By the 1990s the cafe was in a state of disrepair, but it was awarded the status of a Grade II listing in 1996 by English Heritage and then bought in 1998 by local businessman and lottery winner Chris Topping. The Labworth was consequently refurbished, and reopened in the late 1990s with the first floor functioning as the Labworth Restaurant. In 2001, a cafe was added to the ground floor and the building reopened as the Labworth Restaurant and Beach Bistro.

Tags: British Restaurant