The TOWIE hotspot made well-known by its superstar visitors

For some, the jewel in Essex's crown could be the well-known Southend-on-Sea Pier, Colchester Fort or the historic woodland of Epping Forest.

However for others, the beating coronary heart of the county lies throughout the 4 partitions of the Sugar Hut nightclub in Brentwood.

The superstar hotspot, made well-known by its appearances on The Solely Method Is Essex (TOWIE), is now getting ready to shut its doorways for good.

A bidder can purchase it for £three.85 millionhowever what made the place so well-known?

Opening on Brentwood Excessive Avenue in 2004, it was six years earlier than Sugar Hut rose to prominence.

It shortly grew to become the backdrop for arguments and drama on ITV's TOWIE when the hit sequence premiered in 2010.

However earlier than its newfound TV fame, the venue was town's most historic pub: The White Hart.

Planning paperwork confirmed the previous inn dated again to not less than the 1500s and supplied a handy resting place for these touring between London, Colchester and additional afield in Suffolk and Norfolk.

Richard II, whose coat of arms was a white stag, is claimed to have impressed the pub's identify when He supposedly spent the night time there within the 15th century.

“It should have been crowded with folks for a lot of its 500-year life,” one doc reads.

As we speak, its architectural significance is acknowledged within the Grade II* standing granted to the constructing's first ground galleries.

The Sugar Hut's prominence elevated when its proprietor, Mick Norcross, was launched as a TOWIE star in his personal proper.

Beneath his path, stars akin to Pamela Anderson, Frank Lampard and Teddy Sheringham celebrated on the venue.

Her appearances adopted the likes of TOWIE regulars Joey Essex, Mark Wright and Gemma Collins gracing her dance ground.

Regardless of the growing publicity supplied by ITV's cameras, Norcross give up the present in 2013, saying it had broken the Sugar Hut model.

he informed El Sol on the time: “My membership is a luxurious place the place folks come to drink champagne and really feel pampered.

“All these fights they hold filming don't present the membership in mild and I'm anxious it will deter folks from coming, which is the very last thing I need.”

Nevertheless, the bar nonetheless retained its magnetic enchantment to celebrities, internet hosting wrap events for Love Island and Superstar Massive Brother and using so-called “Sugar Hut Honeys” to attract within the crowds.

UK reform chief Nigel Farage even held a rally there in 2019 when he was answerable for the Brexit Celebration.

Norcross ultimately offered the venue that yr, two years earlier than his demise in 2021, as a result of he now not wished the TOWIE affiliation.

When it reopened in October 2022, the nightclub promoted itself on its web site as interesting to a “new technology of gorgeous partygoers”, with immersive theatrical occasions and totally different musical genres for “each style”.

Simon Ryan, who appeared within the first sequence of the ITV present, mentioned that at one level it was “a Mayfair membership in Essex”.

“Going to Sugar Hut, you didn't know who you had been going to satisfy,” he informed BBC Essex.

“They’d a really well-known clientele there. It was central to plenty of TOWIE dramas and storylines.”

Ryan mentioned Norcross and his son, Kirk, created a “unbelievable expertise” for punters on the lookout for an evening out.

“You simply didn't know who you’ll see there and it was an awesome vibe,” he added.

He mentioned it could be “the top of an period” if the constructing didn’t proceed as a nightclub.

The final time the constructing modified fingers, Karma Property Restricted purchased it in 2012 for £1.three million.

In accordance with Firms Home, the Essex firm is led by CEO Zivile Milusauskaite and the corporate nonetheless owns Sugar Hut.