This is the first of three posts looking at art deco pubs across the UK. This one is about art deco and moderne pubs in seaside towns. The post Art Deco Pubs in the UK, Part 1: Beside the Sea appeared first on Pub Gallery ..read more

I managed to go to about 60 new pubs in 2023 which is a fraction of those visited by the intrepid Good Beer Guide tickers, but was quite an achievement for me. It did mean it was very difficult to narrow the choice down to the top five, but I’ve chosen a varied selection from Norfolk in the East to Herefordshire in the west (of England) up to Glasgow in the north. I did have a trip to Hampshire in the south but none of them made the cut. All but the Nelson Head are in the 2023 and 2024... Read more → The post My Top Five Pub Discoveries in 2023 appeared first on Pub Gallery ..read more

Maida Vale is a well off residential area in north west London known for its streets of mansion blocks. It’s also home to Little Venice, the canal basin on the Regents Canal famous for multiple narrowboats and waterside cafes and pubs. BBC’s Maida Vale Studios are possibly best known for being the home of the John Peel Sessions which were recorded here for his influential radio show from 1967 to 2004. What the area is less well known for is its collection of exceptional Victorian heritage pubs. This short walk takes in four pubs, all well worth a visit to... Read more → The post A stroll aroun ..read more

Cutting, etching and embossing glass was perfected by the Victorians and put to excellent effect in many of the hundreds of pubs they built towards the end of the 19th century. Almost all Victorian and Edwardian urban pubs had decorative translucent glass and although most of it has been torn out, much still remains. Etched glass was still popular in the 1920s and 1930s, although the intricate art nouveau patterns had given way to simpler geometric designs. Pubs continue to add etched glass windows today, often to replace glass that was removed in the clear glass craze of the 1990s and early 2 ..read more

If you take a walk around Portsmouth and Southsea you can’t help noticing the number of spectacular pubs. Some have tall corner towers, some are richly tiled and others have prominent signs promoting long gone breweries. Portsmouth historians Riley & Eley claim that the public house is "....arguably the most distinctive feature of Portsmouth's late Victorian working class housing areas".... The post Tiles, Towers and Witch’s Hats: The Eye-catching Pubs of Portsmouth & Southsea appeared first on Pub Gallery ..read more

It was a late start to pub travelling this year with Covid restrictions keeping pubs closed until April. Even then it was only outdoor opening, and it wasn’t until 17th May that pubs were allowed to open inside. Even so, I managed to get to quite a few pubs I had not visited before. Most were very good and it really was quite hard selecting just five of the best. They are listed in chronological order of my visit, not by preference. Kirkstile Inn, Loweswater This pub had been on my must-visit list for a long time but despite several... Read more → The post My top five pub discoveries in 2021 a ..read more

One of the key proposals of the Carlisle State Management Scheme was to reconstruct existing pubs and build new pubs to an ideal agreed by the various interests behind alcohol reduction. The scheme needed an architect and the person chosen was Harry Redfern, who was to oversee the programme until the early 1940s. Redfern’s pubs were revolutionary and became a huge influence on the 'improved pubs' movement that was taking off across the country in the inter-war period. The post Harry Redfern’s Carlisle Legacy: the ‘model pubs’ of the State Management Scheme appeared first on Pub Gallery ..read more

2022 was another good year for discovering UK pubs I hadn't visited before, and I've narrowed these down to five of the best. So what's the criteria? I confess to a bias towards "proper pubs", those "whose primary function... is for people to meet and socialise over a few drinks". The post My Top Five Pub Discoveries in 2022 appeared first on Pub Gallery ..read more

In the mid 20th century some breweries began to add colourful ceramic plaques to their pubs to promote their wares. The design was the same on all pubs and the plaques were cemented into the wall meaning that hundreds are still visible today. The post Ceramic brewery plaques on pubs appeared first on Pub Gallery ..read more

This article takes a closer look at tiled pub exteriors, and examines the importance of the tile manufacturers in the design of pubs. Surprisingly, given their visual impact, tiled facades only started to appear in any numbers at the start of the 1900s, well into the pub building boom. The post A night on the tiles: ceramic pub exteriors appeared first on Pub Gallery ..read more