Kensington residents are believed to be outraged after ’s partner took over a pub in the area and ‘renamed’ it.
After putting up a huge sign on the building with her surname on it, the couple have been accused of ‘destroying local heritage’ by some angry neighbours.
is married to property developer Ben Andersen, 63, who isn’t in the public eye, and they have two sons, Bay (born in 2006) and Oscar (born in 2008).
After Andersen bought the Victorian pub in upmarket Kensington, locals soon noticed a large notice had appeared above the door, rebranding the establishment.
The sign read ‘Allsopp’s since 1730’ and featured a glove on a mustard-coloured background.
A series of complaints were fired off, with people saying the hand-painted banner was their way of on the area.
According to , the sign appeared suddenly on Valentine’s Day, leaving residents convinced Andersen had named the pub after his other half in a romantic gesture
However, a source close to the Allsopp family has now explained that the purpose of the sign was to advertise a beer brand.
The brand in question was established by Allsopp’s great great grandfather and is now being revived by her cousin.
Jamie revived the company and began test brewing in 2020, closely following original recipes.
‘Some people have got the wrong end of the stick about the sign, the name of the pub and what the plans are for the building,’ the insider shared.
‘There will be a pub there and it will be selling Allsopp’s beer. But it’s nothing to do with Kirstie and she didn’t know anything about it.
They stated that ‘the pub is certainly not being named after her.’
However, that hasn’t stopped locals from demanding the removal of the sign, due to it being put up without planning permission.
Reportedly built in the 1880s, the pub’s original name was the British Volunteer.
It has become somewhat of a celebrity hotspot over the years, having been renamed Ariadne’s Nectar and attracting plenty of stars for drinks and socialising.
Sophie Ellis-Bextor has been spotted there previously, as has Blur singer Damon Albarn and members of The Clash.
It’s been reported that Andersen will reopen the pub as The Volunteer.
According to MailOnline, he is looking for a landlord to run it as ‘a microbrewery or artisan distillery’.
Allsopp’s original Indian pale ale will be sold there.
The family source added that ‘Anderson has lived in the area his whole life’ and he is ‘proud and happy to be owning it and re-opening it as a pub which will sell Allsopp’s beer.’
They continued: ‘The sign was put up to sell the beer like many other pubs do. I don’t think it would have occurred to Ben that Kirstie’s name is more of note than the name of the beer.
‘He’s being supportive to Jamie. He thinks what Jamie is doing is amazing.’
The insider blasted the angry residents who have filed complaints as ‘completely misunderstanding’ as it’s ‘not that someone is pretending that there is a heritage that didn’t exist.’
‘Ben wants it to go back to the old name the Volunteer. It won’t be called Allsopp’s. You don’t call a pub after the name of the beer you’re selling.
‘The plan is for it go back to being a pub in an area that used to be full of pubs but they have all closed down.
‘An old pub is being reopened and an English beer is being revitalised – surely that can only be a good thing.’
Planning permission has since been granted for the placement of the Allsopp’s sign.
A council investigation has, however, been launched into claims that a new flat has been installed at the property in North Kensington.
Reps for Kirstie Allsopp have been contacted for comment.
