Cafe Royal, Edinburgh

This is one of Edinburgh's most famous pubs. Its stunning interior includes nine Doulton's tiled murals, seven are of famous inventors each at their moment of their discovery. Built in 1862 and a pub since 1901, the main Circle Bar has a white marble floor, panelled dado, foliate Rococo-style frieze and delightful compartmented ceiling. The original majestic octagonal island serving counter, which dated from 1901, was replaced in 1979 by an equally ornate one, and a new high gantry was installed in 2002. The original fine marble fireplace with a very elaborate overmantel is still there, as are leather seating areas. The six tiled murals by Doultons of Lambeth, London, and designed by John Eyre feature 'William Caxton, citizen of London who brought printing into England 1476' 'Benjamin Franklin, printer distinguished in science and politics', 'Robert Peel makes his first experiment in calico printing', 'Michael Faraday, discoverer of electro-magnetism', 'George Stephenson', and 'James Watt inventor of the condensing engine & his partner Matthew Bolton'. They were first displayed at the 1886 International Exhibition of Industry, Science and Art held on The Meadows in the style of the 1851 Great Exhibition in London.

Other magnificent displays of tiled paintings can be found at Mountain Daisy, Sunderland, Tyne & Wear; General Havelock, Hastings, East Sussex; Central Bar, Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland; Rose Villa Tavern, Hockley, Birmingham; St James Tavern, Soho, London W1;Dolphin, Hackney, London E8; andGolden Cross, Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales.

Beyond a 1901 ornately carved walnut screen with a number of bevelled and engraved mirror panels by John Taylor & Son of Princes Street lies the Oyster Bar. Three of the tiled murals are in this upmarket restaurant along with eight superb large stained glass windows of British sportsmen by Ballantine & Gardiner. It still retains the original counter of red marble, and there are small tiled panels on the bar front and behind the bar. Other features of note are the grey and white diamond-shaped marble tiled floor, a rich scrolled frieze, an elaborate ceiling with gilt embellishments, a revolving door installed in the 1920s and fine original fittings in the gents' downstairs, approached by a marble staircase. The three tiled murals in the restaurant are of 'Louis J. M. Daguerre, scene-painter & Joseph Nicephore Niepce joint discoverers of photography', also two designed by Esther Lewis of a Liverpool paddle steamer and the Cunard liner Umbria, which was built in the Govan shipyard on the Clyde.