Cardinal's Hat, Worcester

A good attractive example of an interwar makeover in the 'Olde English' style. Rebuilt in c.1760, the two upper storeys are pinkish-orange brick Georgian work but on the ground floor in comes a wealth of timber work from the 1920s or 30s. The interior is really quite small but consists of three separate rooms. The most interesting of them is the 'Panelled bar' at the rear left with the figure '6' on the door. The walls are completely covered full-height sixteenth/seventeenth-century-style panelling (the listing description states "c.1900 panelling and boxed beams). There is a Tudor-style stone fireplace, a little colourful stained glass in the top section of the exterior windows with the centre one depicting a cardinal's hat, fixed benches around the walls with bell pushes above and an intact hatch in a door to the back of the servery. The rear room has a new stone floor, which has replaced a 1920/30s concrete one. A passage runs from the front door which has "lounge" on it - the left and right hand doors which led to the public bar and snug respectively are no longer in use. From the open staircase in the centre to the rear the passage has an old dado (date unknown) of panelling with lozenge decoration topped by a wide enough ledge to place your glass.

At the front right is a small snug with a no. 7 on the door has imitation half-timbering on the walls from inter-war times, a lot of leaded exterior windows but the exterior door to this room is no longer in use and there are no old fittings. The front left main bar with a no. 5 on the door from the passage (it also has an exterior door) also has imitation half-timbering on the walls from inter-war times and a stone chimney-piece with a 4-centred arch, a plaster relief of a cardinal's hat above and floral decoration either side of it. What looks like an old bar was added in a sensitive refurbishment by Banks's brewery in 1996, the bar back is modern and it has a wooden floor.

The gents’ at the rear right has a ‘Gentlemens Lavatory’ copper name panel above the door, inter-war black and white chequerboard tiled floor and inter-war tiled walls but some around new urinals are modern. The ladies’ has a ‘Ladies Lavatory’ copper name panel above the door and inter-war tiled walls to two-thirds height. After a spell known as the 'Austrian Bar' dedicated to the sale of Austrian beers in 0.3 litre, half litre and litre sized glasses, in 2013 it reopened selling a range of local real ales. There are plans to add B&B accommodation in the rooms above.