A Highgate landlord is brewing a special beer to help raise funds for historic Lauderdale House – inspired by a royal mistress who once lived there.

The orange IPA brew has been named after the long-time mistress of King Charles II, Nell Gwynn, who resided at the Grade II-listed house in Waterlow Park in the mid-1600s and was dubbed “pretty, witty Nell” by Samuel Pepys.

The beer will go on sale at The Bull Highgate, next month and has been made using American hops and the zest of 40 blood oranges.

Before becoming an actress, Nell was an “orange-girl” at the Theatre Royal, where she sold small the fruit to audience members.

For every pint sold, 10p will go towards the £1.8million Lauderdale Transformed project to renovate run-down parts of the house and create modern facilities – including a state-of-the-art glass-fronted workshop with views across Waterlow Park.

Last month, the property was awarded an £800,000 Heritage Lottery grant, but a further £600,000 still needs to be found to carry out the work and secure the landmark’s long-term financial future.

The idea to create a beer came about through John Oakes, chairman of Highgate Village Business Association. He introduced publican Dan Fox to Katherine Ives, director at Lauderdale House, to see if they could come up with a fundraising idea together.

Mr Fox said: “We were asked what we could do to help and between us we came up with the idea to brew a new beer. As well as raising money for Lauderdale House, it’s also about raising awareness within the local community about the restoration project.”

Ms Ives said: “We see ourselves as a local business in the community of Highgate, so we’re very grateful to the Highgate Village Business Association for introducing us to this and for Dan at The Bull for having such community spirit to help with our campaign.”

The citrus beer will be launched at Lauderdale House on June 4.

? Lauderdale House is also preparing to host its 12th Pride In The House art competition for gay and lesbian artists.

The work of two to four artists will be chosen for a group exhibition, which will run from August 7 to 18.

An overall winner will then be offered a solo exhibition later in the year. The deadline for submissions is July 8.

n Visit www.lauderdalehouse.co.uk