The pub used to be a hive of activity but has been empty for many years.
Cambridge is a city known for its high density of pubs. Whether you are looking for somewhere to soak up the sun next to the River Cam in summer or want a historic pub with a roaring fire in winter, the city has plenty of options for drinking spots.
However, over the years, the city has lost a lot of its popular pubs that many residents might remember. Found on the busy Maids Causeway, the Zebra is one of the lost pubs in the city that has been boarded up for a number of years.
The old Zebra pub building is right next to the Grafton Centre, which is currently being redeveloped into new labs and offices. References to the pub date back to 1861, and it has gone through a range of different landlords.
The pub was known for its “excellent pizzas” and was described as being “always busy and well regarded” by people in the area. The Zebra was briefly closed to allow for it to be refurbished and opened under new management in September 2010.
The reopening didn’t last long, as the pub closed for good in 2011. It briefly opened as a toy shop with people living in the accommodation upstairs. According to CAMRA, “a string of licensee changes left it somewhat in limbo”.
After the toy shop closed, the building was boarded up and a planning application was approved in 2014 to turn the building into student accommodation for Anglia Ruskin University. A second application was submitted in 2017 to completely demolish the Zebra pub.
The plan was to build six new two-bedroom apartments. Since the second application was proposed, little to no work has been done to the Zebra pub over the last few years. The building has now been covered by scaffolding and plastic sheets.
If you are walking past the pub any time soon, you might notice some builders going in and out of the area. It is still not known what will happen to the building but it does seem like there have been some developments. Cambridge City Council was approached for more information about the planning process regarding the Zebra.
What do you hope will become of the historic pub?