Never have historic pubs been so at risk: that is the view of Historic England, the government body responsible for preserving the country’s heritage, which has today listed 21 watering holes from the golden age of tavern-building.
After the first World War, when the 11pm closing time was enshrined as a matter of patriotic as well as legal duty, the breweries stepped in to transform the image and appeal of their taverns, establishing some 5000 new buildings that were designed to attract more respectable customers and staff, appeal to families and consign the images of drunkenness associated with Victorian and Edwardian gin palaces to the past once and for all. It was this transformation that finally thwarted advocates of an American-style prohibition on these shores.
The mock-Tudor Black Horse, in Birmingham, the only building to have been upgraded to Grade II* (the rest are Grade II), was on a scale that would not have been contemplated before and was the flagship of the brewers, John Davenport & Sons. HV Morton, the travel writer, called it “the King of these palaces of refreshment” and it incorporated faux-medieval panelled hallways and stone fireplaces that would not have disgraced an aristocrat’s country pile. At The Station, in Surrey, Truman’s employed some 20 specialist builders to produce plaster wall panels decorated with birds and oak trees and wooden roof beams carved with grimacing faces and evoke the “Merrie England” feeling of a traditional hostelry.
The Daylight Inn in Kent, named in honour of William Willett, a local resident who campaigned for daylight saving [BST], incorporates a ballroom, as does the Art Deco Berkeley Hotel, in Scunthorpe: these were pubs that were designed to be destinations, that people would travel from miles around to see. They functioned as centres of the community, with entertainment, fine dining, children’s rooms and often extensive gardens to relax in. The Black Horse even has a famous bowling green.
That is partly why they are now under threat. People, wisely, no longer drive to pubs. These buildings contain large rooms away from the bar that are no longer used. They have land. Their value as going concerns is often far less than their value as homes, especially in London. The dangers they face are embodied in the example of the Carlton Tavern, in Kilburn, which was being considered for Grade II listing by Historic England, like the others, when it was suddenly demolished on April 8 by its owners to make way for a block of flats. Westminster Council have since ordered it to be rebuilt, but it is the exception to the rule.
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“Inter-war pubs are disappearing with an alarming speed,” Emily Cole, the investigator with Historic England responsible for the listings. “They are particularly vulnerable as they are so large and on such large sites.
“Pubs we were looking at one moment had gone the next. I’m not sure that any other sort of building has been so affected. The speed with which these are going is so very great: it’s a very sad thing.”
“These inter-war pubs are more than a slice of living history, they play an intrinsic role in English culture and our local communities,” Tracey Crouch, the Heritage Minister, said. “I’m delighted that these pubs and their fascinating history have been protected for generations to enjoy for years to come.”