A NEW gin bar and restaurant in Abingdon will be steeped in the town’s history.

Located next to The Narrows, run by JD Wetherspoons in High Street, The Old Chemist is to open in the building where Smith’s chemist was situated for more than a century until it moved in 2016 to Stert Street.

Now pub manager Ronnie Carter, from Oxford, is to open a new venture at 23, High Street.

Mr Carter has obtained listed building consent from Vale of White Horse District Council to renovate the property.

And he promised it would pay tribute to the town’s heritage, with the restaurant situated at the back in the former library reading room.

Mr Carter said: “This a £250,000 investment and we plan to be open by February - we are on schedule.

“We are very aware of the building’s history so we want to make the most of those connections.

“We have kept some of the old fixtures and fittings from the chemist and the restaurant will be book-lined as it will be situated in the old library’s reading room.

“The town’s library used to be in the High Street and we believe the space where the restaurant is going to be was once an old reading room.”

Mr Carter said as well as gin, real ales would be on sale at the pub, which will be a free house - not tied to a particular brewery.

Wooden church pews and wooden flooring have been acquired from an old church building in London to give the pub a period feel.

The Old Chemist will also feature a smokehouse so that customers can enjoy barbecued smoked ribs.

The new pub is situated right next door to The Narrows, opened by JD Wetherspoons in 2013 after the main Post Office closed and switched to the Co-op.

Mr Carter said he did not think his new bar and restaurant would be in direct competition with The Narrows. He added: “I think we will be offering something quite different - I would like to be open for Valentine’s Day if possible.”

While the library restaurant will have books lining the walls diners won’t actually be able to borrow them to take home. A design statement, part of the planning application, said: “Existing architectural evidence and features suggested the premises used to run either as library reading rooms, or photographer’s studios."

Smith’s Chemist was the town centre’s oldest shop.