Bell, Birmingham

A two-bay, white-painted 18th century brick building adjacent to the old parish church of Harborne and really a country pub in what is now a Birmingham suburb. Exactly how old the building is is hard to say but it was probably a timber-framed building originally which has been altered many times over the years. The building is said to have been opened as a pub between 1860 and 1864 by a plumber and glazier, George Reece. The spine is a central corridor with a red-tiled floor and timber dado. Half way up on the left is a remarkably small counter to the servery which has been formed at the bottom of the stairs. At the front is what used to be a public drinking area which could only be accessed through the servery - but this is now a staff area.

Rear-left is a snug with fixed seating, more red-tiled flooring, a glazed hatch to the servery and a vast fireplace. The big room is on the right, running from front to back. When it took its present form with its fixed seating and abundance of mock half-timbering is uncertain but it was probably in the interwar period. The solidity of the half-timbering is in marked contrast to the much flimsier work in the corridor which is probably from the early post-war period. At the rear is a well-tended and very unusual L-shaped bowling green.