Sloans, Glasgow

A visit to Sloans should be made during the daytime so you can see its exceptional opulent Art Nouveau interior from 1900 situated on the first and second floors. The ground floor island-style bar with its quality fittings only dates from the 1980s. Built 1827-8 probably as part of the Argyll Arcade in 1827-8 by John Baird, this is a three-storey tenement-style building. The interior was remodelled in 1900 by Charles Robinson, who specialised in ornate bar interiors. He was commissioned by David Sloan, a prominent Glasgow publican of the era. Known then as the Arcade Café, it was described at the time as 'consisted of richly furnished dining rooms, coffee rooms and bars, in addition to a "cigar and tobacco divan" to which businessmen could retire'.

There are two entrances – from Argyll Street there is what looks like a tunnel under a building called Cranston House leading to the pub set back on the right. A small flight of terrazzo steps has ‘Sloan’s’ on one and ‘Lounge Bar’ on another. However head for Argyle Arcade to find what Historic Scotland describes as a tiled entrance ‘of exceptional quality’. It has a segmental-arched columned timber entrance with deeply recessed glazed timber two-leaf doors leading to marble staircase. The walls of the highly decorative passageway into the pub are completely covered in tiling – a dado of blue, green, yellow and brown patterned tiles with regularly spaced floriate tiled columns and cream tiles above. At the top of the stairs is a lobby with a mosaic floor having leaf symbols.

The ground floor originally consisted of a main bar with a large mahogany circular counter with three booths and ample seating accommodation. The island gantry included spirit casks and a leaded glass canopy attached to the ceiling ran around the top of the counter. Research has identified that these fittings were in place up to the 1980s. Also, there was a small cocktail bar on the ground floor. Nowadays, the ground floor bar has a wood laminate floor, an island-style servery with a U-shaped counter front that is panelled in the same style as that on the wall panelling with a mirror panel at the top all the way around. The island gantry has square columns topped with capitals holding up the top section, which has semi circular pediments at the top on both sides. Less than half of the lower shelving has been lost to fridges. Around the walls are seating bays – two on the left and three on the right, The bays have bench ends incorporating newell posts but whilst quality work all of it only dates from the 1980s. The oldest fittings are the etched panels in the toilets doors. There are doorways lined with similar panelling leading to another smaller room at the rear. It has 1980s panelling and fixed seating also a ‘Turners Brewery Pale Ale Ayr’ mirror on the far wall. This presumably is where the original cocktail bar was situated.

On the Argyll Arcade end of the ground floor bar there is an ornate arcaded glazed timber screen with etched glass and a two-leaf door leads to impressive panelled stairwell. There is an ornate heavy dark timber staircase to the upper floors with decorative newel posts and a large wall painting at first floor landing. At the top of the impressive staircase on the first floor there is the former cash office. There is an impressive corridor consisting of arcaded glazed timber screens with etched glass, Art Nouveau stained glass windows at the top, strapwork plasterwork to ceiling picked out in gold, and rooms leading off. To left of corridor a two leaf door leads to the large dining room with a panelled dado and bell pushes, deep frieze to cornice with low relief plasterwork with putti. More strapwork plasterwork to ceiling. Note one door has ‘Powder Room’ on it. Further down the corridor on the left is a ladies toilet in what was originally a small dining room. The former Smoking Room at the rear left has a panelled dado, deep frieze to cornice with low relief plasterwork with putti. More strapwork plasterwork to ceiling which with the frieze is painted a deep green colour and detail picked out in gold. There is an ornate wood surround chimneypiece with overmantle mirror almost reaching the ceiling. On the right of the corridor a two-leaf door leads to the former Ladies Dining Room is now a small bar with strapwork plasterwork to ceiling picked out in gold but modern seating. On the wall is a ‘Campbell & Co’s Edinburgh Ales’ mirror. What was the original ladies toilet is now a store room. Another former small dining room has been amalgamated with the lift service room and is now a kitchen with no old fittings surviving. At the far end of the corridor on the right what was a bar is now an office and the bar removed. (Various other small rooms still exist but they now have alternate uses.) Note there are letters above the doors – ‘C’ on the Dining Room, ‘F’ on what is now the bar, ‘D’ on a cloakroom, and ‘E’ on the smoking room.

On the second floor on the left is a stuning large ballroom with a vaulted coffered ceiling with detail picked out in gold, a number of small skylights, and stained glass exterior windows with a wreath motif. It has a parquet floor, and on the wall are timber dado supports and regularly spaced pilasters with plaster heads painted gold. All around the room there is a deep cornice with open pediments, egg and dart moulding and festoons with detail painted gold. At the south end of the room is a classical marble chimneypiece with horseshoe tiled insert, overmantle mirror, and above a broken pediment. At the north end is a bar behind shutters but as the right hand part has a different dado the bar may be a later insertion. Modernised toilets on second floor. Its listed category was changed from B to A in November 1996 and the listing descriptions states “Sloans is a rare example of a bar, dining room and coffee house complex with an exceptional opulent Art Nouveau interior. The upper floors contain dining rooms, smoking rooms and an impressive ballroom. The tiled entrance from the Argyll Arcade is of exceptional quality. Also of particular note is the quality of the timberwork, such as the arcaded glazed screens and impressive staircase. The decorative plasterwork is of some quality and completes the rich decorative scheme.”

As the quality interior-work is situated on the first and second floors visitors are recommended to ring ahead to ensure the rooms can be visited (or to pre-arrange a guided tour).

Very helpful research including a first floor plan and old photos from John Gorevan, author of Glasgow’s Pubs and Publicans (2002) Tempus Publishing ISBN 9780752427591 to whom we are most grateful. Please take a look at his website