Olde White Harte, Hull

The impressive Olde White Harte has been a licensed premises since the 18th century and has parts dating back to the seventeenth. Its historic interest as a public house, however, derives from a major refurbishment of 1881 by local architects, Smith & Brodrick. Their designs for the downstairs rooms (smoke room to the left, and public bar) used various elements of the original domestic interior but incorporated them into an idealised re-creation of a 17th century ‘Olde Englishe’ inn, complete with massively enlarged brick fireplaces – a striking example of a ‘theme pub’ by the Victorians!!

The 1881 scheme, which also created the lovely decorative glasswork, left the old panelled upstairs rooms largely untouched. These are now reserved mainly for dining and functions but can be viewed at quiet times. One is dubbed the 'Plotting Room' - a Civil War reference to be taken with a pinch of salt, as the building post-dates that conflict. The smoke room was refurbished in 2023; the former bar counter was removed but some of its timbers may have been incorporated into a mock bar counter/partition enclosing a seating area that occupies its original position. The built-in telephone kiosk in the smoke room, now disused, is a noteworthy survival in itself.