The Building Conservation Directory 2023

U S E F U L I N F O R M AT I O N 6 173 C AT H E D R A L C O M M U N I C AT I O N S T H E B U I L D I N G C O N S E R VAT I O N D I R E C T O R Y 2 0 2 3 | C E L E B R AT I N G 3 0 Y E A R S the decision to upgrade the magnificent Philharmonic, Liverpool from Grade II* to Grade I – the first Victorian pub to be so highly listed. It was agreed with HE to make this an annual exercise, but the pandemic interfered and the outcomes from the second batch of pubs put forward did not emerge until June 2022. The results were three new listings: two upgrades from II to II* and eight enhanced descriptions. Both exercises resulted in very welcome national publicity for pubs with historic interiors. Why though, is it considered so important to achieve statutory listing for as many of our Inventory pubs as possible? The main reason of course, is that listed buildings enjoy a greater measure of protection than others. The interiors of unlisted pubs are always at risk because planning permission is not required to make alterations to fixtures and fittings and the high number of notable interiors lost over the years is tragic. A couple of recent examples will help illustrate the problem. The Berkeley Arms, Purton, Gloucestershire is (or was) a rare example of a no frills, unspoilt rural pub. You entered into a tiny drinking area with a quarry-tiled floor, a bench seat and a simple servery with old counter and shelves. Beyond was a second room with flagstone floor, a big curved, high-backed settle, a couple of sturdy tables, a large stone fireplace and a hatch to the side of the servery. Given what is a fairly remote position, the fact that it only opened in the warmer months was unsurprising. In the past, HE had been disinclined to list simple, vernacular buildings like this given their lack of ‘architectural distinction’. However, in more recent times, added weight has clearly been given to rarity so when it was announced that the owners, Berkeley Estates, were putting the pub on the market, a listing application was quickly submitted. Sadly, by the time HE were able to visit, the owners had already stripped out the counter, shelves and other fittings, leaving the place a shell. It was therefore no surprise that HE considered it not to be listable in that state. A current example is the New Beehive in Bradford, an Edwardian pub that was given a major makeover in 1936. Much of the 1901 multi-roomed layout survives, the fittings being an interesting mixture from the two periods. PHG was aware that the owner was keen to sell so included it in the batch of pubs put forward to HE in connection with the listing project mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, by the time the decision to list the building at Grade II came through, its sale had been completed and the new owners had already begun work, removing the historic bar servery and replacing ground floor windows. Further alterations were no doubt intended but the listing put a block on them. At the time of writing, a planning application for change of use to offices, plus an application for listed building consent to further internal changes, had been submitted. CAMRA consideration of any listed building consent application. All this ought to reinforce the message that the building concerned has been listed primarily because of its form and function as a pub and that any other use would therefore be inappropriate. Let’s now have a look at some of the National Inventory pubs that have achieved the higher grades of listing. There are two Grade I English NI pubs. At the George, Southwark, London, the listing reflects the importance of this ancient galleried coaching inn as a whole, not just the interior. The Parliament Bar contains remarkable old woodwork (some may even be late 17th century), and a highly unusual glazed-in servery. The aforementioned Philharmonic, Liverpool, though a noble building externally, has been recognised will of course be objecting in the strongest possible terms, with the emphasis being that the building was listed for its special interest as a ‘pub’, so any changes to the interior resulting in pub fixtures and fittings being lost must be resisted. On the positive side, many owners of listed NI pubs fully appreciate the treasures of which they are custodians and invest significantly in both their upkeep and enhancement. This is reflected in the number of NI pubs that have featured over the years in CAMRA’s prestigious Pub Design Awards. In the most recent awards, all but three of the winners were listed NI pubs. The Historic England Conservation Award was won jointly by the Castle, Macclesfield and the Coach & Horses, Barnburgh, South Yorkshire. The Community Local Award went to the magnificent Boleyn Tavern, East Ham, London while the Bleeding Wolf in Scholar Green, Cheshire was highly commended in the refurbishment award. The Coach & Horses is especially worth highlighting. Built in 1937, it has one of the finest surviving inter-war interiors in the country; the glazed counter-screens in particular are a thing of wonder. However, it suffered serious neglect by previous owners and had been closed for several years before being purchased by an enlightened new team. They have carried out an exemplary refurbishment, the attention to detail being astonishing, even extending to parts of the pub with no public access. As already mentioned, many listed pubs have only the most cursory mention of their internal features (some none at all) – why is PHG so anxious to ensure that detailed descriptions for NI pubs are always in place? It is to do with unwanted planning/ listed building applications. In the case of the New Beehive above, for instance, the full description that accompanies the new listing makes clear which elements of the interior are of the greatest significance and therefore deserve particular attention in the The New Beehive Inn, Bradford, was Grade II listed in July 2022, but too late to protect the bar counter which was ripped out just before the pub was listed. The Coach & Horses, Barnburgh, Doncaster was listed in 2010 for its significance as a purpose-built, ‘improved’ inter-war pub in a village setting, and for the survival of its layout which conforms to the original architects’ plans dated 1936. In 2022 it won the CAMRA/Historic England Conservation Award.