A new bar and restaurant in Huntingdonshire has opened its doors, with the promise of being a "community hub" with a poignant touch of local history.

Vicky Pryce has just opened The Watch Office at Alconbury Weald. It sits in the old Bohemia Café premises opposite New Shire Hall – the Cambridgeshire County Council offices.

The new business owner described the journey of opening up her new venture as an "anxious one, but an exciting one" nonetheless.

The Watch Office sits on the former RAF Alconbury air field.The Watch Office sits on the former RAF Alconbury air field. (Image: TIM GEORGE) The Watch Office feels and looks like an officer’s mess. The premises is a Grade II listed building, and is the oldest permanent structure on the site of the former RAF Alconbury airfield.

While it now houses a bar and restaurant, the building used to operate as RAF Alconbury’s central operations hub in World War Two.

In 1943, a bomb exploded near the building which killed 19 service men.

Vicky was keen to pay homage to the building’s history, and commissioned Peterborough-based street artist, Nathan Murdoch, to create a mural paying to tribute to both the British and American soldiers stationed at RAF Alconbury.

It took Nathan Murdoch three days to create the mural.It took Nathan Murdoch three days to create the mural. (Image: Newsquest) For three days, Nathan worked on what he now says is his "favourite piece in a while".

It incorporates a British soldier and a Bristol Blenheim plane, as well as an American soldier and a Boeing B17 Flying Fortress.

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Nathan said: "It was an emotional story to tell, and I’ve captured a story from a time ago that will stay on these walls nearly 100 years later.

"The soldiers I created are fictional, but they represent a group of people who were here.

"People that visit The Watch Office will be able to relate somehow to the mural on the wall, whether it’s through family members or their own experience with war."

Nathan Murdoch (left) and Vicky Pryce (right) standing in front of the mural.Nathan Murdoch (left) and Vicky Pryce (right) standing in front of the mural. (Image: Newsquest) Vicky hopes that The Watch Office will not only serve as a place to remember the lives of those based at RAF Alconbury, but as a space for those living in Alconbury Weald now to make their own memories.

She said: “The Watch Office will be a really important space for social interaction and the community. We’ll be hosting quizzes and special events to bring people together.”

Natalie Leigh-Brown, Community Development Lead at Urban&Civic, said that The Watch Office will be a “real destination”.

She added: “It will be such an important community hub where people can come and meet their neighbours, make new friends and really get to know each other.

"People are so excited for this place."

The Watch Office is open Monday-Saturday from 10am until 11pm. Brunch and lunch will be served from 10am until 2:30pm, with traditional dinners served from 5:30pm until 8:30pm.

On Sundays, it will be open from 10am until 8pm and food will be served from 10am until 4pm.

Bookings are advised, and they can be made via email to: hello@watch-office.com.

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