Pub Heritage Bulletin 261 Nov 2024

Northern Ireland, FORT BAR, Belfast. We reported last month that the Fort Bar had closed with owners Beannchor Group considering their options for the pub. It did not take them long to come to a decision - the pub is now on the market through Avison Young for £195,000: Avison Young. The main ground floor bar features five Victorian mahogany snug compartments across from the servery. The servery itself retains a splendidly ornate seven bay bar back and counter with a tiled fringe typical of Northern Ireland. Unfortunately, much of the timberwork was painted over during a refurbishment in 2022. Hopefully the future owners will reverse this.
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Cheshire, TRAVELLERS REST, Alpraham. Following a recent visit Gerry Hahlo reports that building works are underway to repair the damage caused by the lorry collision as covered in our February bulletin. The builders are re-using as much of the original material as possible and hope to finish within a month. This traditionally run pub has been in the same family ownership since 1900 and consists of four rooms with most of the fittings dating from a 1937 refit.
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Leicestershire, WAGGON & HORSES, Ibstock. This traditional Georgian village pub has been upgraded from One to Two Stars. It retains a multi-room layout with the last significant refurbishment being in the 1960s. Notable features include the hefty bench seating in the pool room, the rare inter-war stove in the bar with its flue pipe rising to the ceiling and the mostly unaltered (since the 1960s) servery.
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Gloucestershire & Bristol, NOVA SCOTIA, Bristol. We reported in April this year that the wonderful harbourside pub was due to be taken into Heineken Star Pubs & Bars managed portfolio. Fears over what may happen appear to have been unfounded as the pub re-opened over the summer with no significant changes apart from new fire doors. And a new licensee, Sam Gregory, who also runs the nearby Rose of Denmark. See: Bristol 24/7.
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Greater Manchester, SWAN & RAILWAY, Wigan. Previously on the Outstanding Conversions and Restoration (OCR) list, the Swan & Railway has been added to the inventory at One Star. Built in 1898, it suffered a serious fire in 1985 and subsequently there was a good deal of reconstruction and replacement. Union Inns, who also run the Woodman in Birmingham, bought the Swan & Railway in 2019 and undertook restoration works resulting in it being awarded the Historic England Conservation Award in 2021. New evidence has recently been supplied by John Brearley of Union Inns demonstrating that more of the original fabric had survived the fire than previously thought.
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Greater Glasgow & Clyde Valley, POT STILL, Glasgow. The Pot Still was previously also on the Outstanding Conversions and Restoration (OCR) list, but has been included on the inventory at One Star. The pub has an impressive gantry but both it and the bar counter date from an extensive refurbishment in c.1971. It retains the building's mid-Victorian features of an ornate cornice, ceiling roses and columns holding up the ceiling. Real ales are served via traditional Aitken tall founts. This is one of Scotland’s leading whisky pubs with a collection of around 750 malts. The whisky is displayed on the gantry and the shelving behind the counter.
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West Midlands, OLDE LEATHERN BOTTEL, Wednesbury. Also added at One Star is the Olde Leathern Bottel which occupies a building said to date back to the 16th Century. It was partly rebuilt in 1913 and then refitted by Mitchell & Butlers around 1960. It has a little altered layout of four small rooms with a drinking lobby and contains many features from the 1960s refit as well as some interwar bar fittings.
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Cumbria, AGRICULTURAL INN, Penrith. Known as the Aggi, and previously called the Agricultural Hotel, we can report the good news that the pub re-opened on the 21st November after closing in the summer of 2023. The Valiant Pub Company are the new owners with licensees Megan McCall & Thomas McLaughlin running the pub. It is good to see that the impressive Victorian servery with its working sash screens remains untouched following the refurbishment. See: Penrith Town.
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West Midlands, BELL, Bloxwich. We reported on the closure of the Bell, an early 20th Century corner pub with a multi-room layout, in the September bulletin. We have heard from Keith Watkins, retired Pub Preservation Officer from Walsall CAMRA that the freehold of the pub is for sale through Fletcher CRE for £400,000 with a lease option- see: Fletcher CRE.(ominously referred to as a ‘former public house’).Keith also added that Walsall CAMRA applied to list the pub with Historic England in 2011, but this application was refused. But they successfully applied for an ACV for the pub in 2015, which we assume has now expired.
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Leicestershire, SIR CHARLES NAPIER, Leicester. We reported on the refurbishment of the Sir Charles Napier by Stonegate in the October bulletin. This has now been assessed and the report is that it has been completely modernised with few original features retained. Consequently, it has now been removed from the inventory. Thanks to Stephen Peck for the report.



Other Items of Interest

Heritage Pubs of Sunderland & South Tyneside.
Sunderland & South Tyneside CAMRA have made available a 39 page .pdf download of their Pub Heritage Local Inventory. This includes many photos, with one page for each pub. See: Heritage Pubs of Sunderland & South Tyneside.
It’s a very well organised guide full of detail and well researched. Well worth having a look, particularly if you are considering compiling a Local Inventory for your area. Well done to all involved.

Pub Design Awards. The deadline for the annual CAMRA Pub Design Awards has been extended to the 3rd December. So, if you are really quick you might just be able to squeeze a nomination in! The Five categories include New Build, Community Local, Historic England Conservation, Conversion to Pub Use and Refurbishment. This year the Vines, Liverpool was awarded the Conservation award as reported in the June bulletin. For more information See: CAMRA Pub Design Awards

If you have any news on our Heritage Pubs please send updates to: info@pubheritage.camra.org.uk .

Please feel free to forward this bulletin to your friends who are also interested in visiting pubs like these - if they wish to receive future bulletins direct all they have to do is sign up by sending an email to bulletin@pubheritage.camra.org.uk with the word “subscribe” as the subject or “unsubscribe” if you wish to stop receiving bulletins.

Tom Chapman