A WELL-KNOWN York pub has picked up a prestigious prize from CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale.

The York Tap, which hosted CAMRA’s 2013 Pub Design Awards, beat nationwide competition to win the “conversion to pub use award”.

Originally opened around 1907, the station pit-stop served as a tea room for commuters on the North Eastern Railway line. It has also housed the York Model Railway before becoming a pub in November 2011.

Pubs are nominated for the award by the independent body based on the quality of their transition from a previous use – other nominees included a former 19th-century gunsmiths.

Owner Jamie Hawksworth, along with his business partner John Holdsworth, risked more than £500,000 to get the pub off the ground.

He said: “We are a York pub. It’s the door coming in from the city that’s busiest, not the door from the station.

“The award reassures us that we weren’t just blindly committing to something. It’s been nationally acknowledged now that what we’ve done is a good thing.”

Judge and pub design expert Dr Steven Parissien praised the historic architecture.

He said: “It’s a fabulous building. Our rail heritage is more valued than most and York’s station is among the best of the Victorian era.

“The York Tap is a key watering-hole doing great business. It’s a conservation of existing work and a sensitive reproduction – the new fits with the old.”

Asked why The York Tap was chosen to host the awards, Dr Parissien said: “We all love coming to York, it’s a brilliant place.”

The pub is reputable with ale lovers for its circular bar, which holds 32 taps, serving a regularly changing selection of beers, cask-ales and ciders.

Mr Hawksworth is also the owner of Pivni, in Patrick Pool, and other regional freehouses including The Sheffield Tap, which won the conversion award in 2010.