A restaurant is set to reopen after five years following a £1million makeover.

Former coaching inn, The King's Head in High Street, Chipping Ongar, will reopen on Wednesday (July 8) after being purchased and transformed by company, Oakman Inns.

The former derelict-building, which was built in 1679, has undergone the restoration of hidden Inglenook fireplaces, which were covered up for over a century, brickwork has been rendered in a traditional lime plaster and new panelling has been installed.

Residents are set to see the updated building, which now consists of a courtyard, a new café restaurant, two small bars, a panelled lounge, a restored 30 seat, double-height private dining room and the newly extended landscaped garden terrace, from 8am.

The restaurant, which also has a new menu created by Head Chef, Neil Papley, who formally worked at the George & Dragon in High Road, Epping, will donate 25p from every Belly of Pork dish to the Helen Rollason Cancer Charity.

Oakman Inns CEO Peter Borg-Neal, who selected the building in 2011, said: "When I was asked if we wanted to become involved in this project, I only had to see the building to know that Oakman Inns had to take on The King’s Head.

"A splendid and historical Inn built in 1679 that just needed some TLC to take it back to its former glory when, as a Coaching Inn, it was the life and soul of the community.”

New General Manager Rachel Wyatt said: “We’ve been working towards the opening for some time.

"My deputy Faye Cooper, assistant Carly Stovell and I have been made to feel really welcome in Ongar.

"We’ve got a great team of 30 who have been undergoing an extensive training programme for the last couple of months and we can’t wait to open our doors.”