A beloved pub in the centre of Grove Park that campaigners say was at risk of demolition has been listed as a building of national importance.

It is a huge victory for campaigners who had been battling to save the iconic site, which at one point was set to be demolished and replaced with flats and shops.

The Baring Hall Hotel is now officially a Grade II listed building according to Historic England, all but ensuring it will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

It was set to be demolished in 2011 but was saved thanks to the outcry of locals and transformed back into a pub again with new owners Antic.

Antic owner Anthony Thomas told News Shopper earlier this year that the pub would not be sold and was not going to be demolished, but the memory of how close it came to being true stuck with the campaigning group The Baring Trust.

Built in 1882, the pub has seen famous names such as George Bernard Shaw and children’s author Edith Nesbit as some of its most famous guests.

Liam Curran, from The Baring Trust, said: “We are delighted to say the least. It is the culmination of a decade of campaigning by many, many people and we thank them for it.

“We applied for listing of this exceptional building to save it both as a public house and a fine piece of landmark architecture for present and future generations. It is significant in various ways.

“One is that it was one of the first ever ‘improved’ pubs in the UK. In the listing notes on Historic England’s website it says offering spacious rooms for non-alcoholic refreshments, respectable entertainment and serving meals were novel developments for a public house of this period.

“In addition, the restrained architectural approach presented a clear contrast to the contemporary trends in pub architecture for extravagant design schemes.”