The Royal Oak public house

The Royal Oak is a corner public house of early to mid-19th century origins, substantially extended and re-fronted in 1872, with a comprehensive interior refitting in 1928–1929. The building stands at the east end of Union Street at its junction with Rhodes Bank on the south side of the road, forming the right-hand end of a short row of three-storey buildings. The 1872 front elevation incorporates the facades of two single-storey properties on the left-hand side, which do not form part of this assessment. A single-storey extension in the rear yard is also excluded from the listing.

Materials and Construction

The building is constructed of darker red hand-made bricks and orange machine-made bricks laid in both Flemish and English garden wall bonds, with sandstone dressings and a slate roof.

Plan and Layout

The 1928 refitting created a plan arranged around a curved bar servery. The main entrance from Union Street leads to an inner lobby with a doorway on the right opening into the vault (now called the lounge), which has a hatch to the servery and an inner lavatory that is no longer in use. The lobby also opens into the lounge hall, which contains the curved servery and a staircase to the rear rising to a first-floor function room. Opening off the left-hand side of the lounge hall are the front Commercial Room and smaller rear Snug, now knocked into one space. On the Rhodes Bank side elevation, a narrow doorway opens into the off-sales, which has a hatch to the servery and a doorway on the right opening into the lounge hall. Landlord's accommodation occupies the first and second floors but was not inspected.

Exterior

Front Elevation (Union Street)

The public house comprises three bays over three storeys with a partial cellar. The front elevation is built of orange brick in Flemish bond with a sandstone plinth and a slate roof hipped to the outer right-hand side and shared with the two bays to the left (outside this assessment). Two truncated brick ridge stacks rise from the roof.

The ground floor features a central round-headed doorway with recessed brick jambs and ashlar voussoirs with a giant shaped keystone, moulded stone hoodmould, and double stringcourse of slightly projecting bricks. The timber door consists of a shaped fielded panel above two fielded panels, with a plain semi-circular overlight above. To each side is a wide window with ashlar frames featuring moulded sills and dentil friezes and cornices. The timber window frames have large lower panes with horizontal rows of three smaller panes above. The left-hand window has etched glass to the lower pane bearing the name "ROYAL OAK". Both windows have leaded upper panes with stained glass landscape scenes across the panes, and the central casement panes display an oak tree and crown with metal top hinges. The outer right-hand corner at ground-floor level is curved with a corbelled-out angled corner above.

On the upper two floors, the bays are separated by indented piers. The first floor has three tall square-headed windows with stone sills and lintels, while the second floor has similar but shorter windows. All windows have rows of cogged bricks beneath the sills and double stringcourses of slightly projecting bricks at lintel level on both floors. The window frames are two-over-two pane horned sashes; those on the second floor have geometric leading. A moulded timber eaves band completes the elevation.

Rhodes Bank Side Elevation

The Rhodes Bank elevation has been partially rebuilt. The brickwork of the front elevation wraps around the left-hand corner, and the ground floor and full height of the right-hand corner are built of darker hand-made bricks in English garden wall bond. The remaining wall is orange brick in English garden wall bond.

The ground floor has a narrow round-headed doorway with two stone steps, stone jambs, impost blocks with oval rosettes, a moulded arch with giant keystone, and a three-panelled timber door with a plain semi-circular overlight. To the left are two irregular square-headed windows with stone sills and lintels and timber window frames with top-hinged upper casements. To the right is a wider window similar to those on the ground floor of the front elevation but with plainer stone sill and lintel. The timber window frame has the same large lower pane and horizontal row of three smaller panes above, with the same stained glass scene and central casement pane.

The first and second floors have irregularly placed square-headed windows with concrete lintels and two-pane uPVC frames. On the right-hand side of the first floor are two small WC windows with stone sills and lintels and timber two-pane casements. A similar window above on the second floor is now blocked.

Rear Elevation

The rear elevation is built of darker hand-made bricks except for the right-hand bay, which is orange brick. It has various irregularly placed two-over-two pane sash windows. On the first floor is a round-headed stair window with patterned geometric leaded and stained glass.

Interior

The interior retains many fixtures and fittings from the 1928 scheme.

Lounge Hall and Servery

The centrepiece is the mahogany full-height semi-circular projecting servery in the lounge hall. It has a moulded counter supported on shaped console brackets with pilasters and shaped fielded panels to the lower section. Piers rise to a moulded cornice with counter sash window screens with etched glass that can be raised for service. The back of the servery has a mahogany hatch with a similar etched counter sash screen opening into the vault (now called lounge). A smaller mahogany hatch with etched counter sash screen opens into the off-sales to the side, also with a moulded counter supported on shaped console brackets and a shaped fielded panel below.

Off-Sales

The right-hand side of the off-sales is separated from the lounge hall by a mahogany partition with fielded panels, upper lights of etched glass, and a mahogany door with a fielded lower panel and diamond-sectioned etched glazing to the upper half. The off-sales floor has diagonal black and white tiles, and the left-hand side has square wall tiles in pink with green upper and lower borders and a narrow checked upper band of yellow and purple.

Wall Tiles

Similar wall tiles remain in the main entrance lobby off Union Street, and in the lounge hall on the east wall, the north-east corner (next to the partition screen), and part of the south wall separating the lounge hall from the left-hand rooms, with the tiles continuing up the stairs.

Fixed Seating and Doors

The lounge hall has fixed seating against the west wall and curved round the south-west corner. Two doorways open into the left-hand rooms with timber architraves with diamond-pointed corners.

Staircase

The timber staircase has a square newel post with diamond-pointed decoration and semi-circular finial, moulded handrail with squared and moulded balusters, and shaped cheeks.

Main Entrance Lobby

The main entrance off Union Street has an inner lobby with an upper horizontal light with leaded and stained glass swag above the inner double doors, which are in the manner of the partition doorway (in the position of the revolving door shown on the 1928 plan). On the right-hand side of the lobby is a doorway into the vault (lounge) with a timber architrave with diamond-pointed corners and a mahogany panelled door with diamond-sectioned etched glazing.

Vault (Lounge)

The vault has fixed seating with a draught screen and a small fireplace with mahogany Art Nouveau mantelpiece. A three-panelled door with architrave opens into the now-unused (as of 2018) lavatory. This room has a red quarry-tile floor with a narrow black border and white wall tiles with black skirting and cornice tiles and upper black and white chevron tile bands.

Left-Hand Rooms

The two left-hand rooms, both with moulded cornices, have been knocked into one. The front half has fixed seating. The rear half has a window similar to those in the front elevation with etched glass to the large lower pane and three smaller panes above (the left-hand pane replaced and lacking stained glass).

Staircase Continuation

The staircase balustrade changes at the half landing lit by the stair window. The return flight of stairs has a turned timber balustrade with a ball finial, timber handrail, and square stick balusters.

First Floor

The first floor has three-panelled doors with small leaded lights and architraves with diamond-pointed corners. The function room has a moulded cornice, half timbering, and two fireplaces with timber mantelpieces. There is a similarly detailed servery as the ground floor with a counter sash screen. The lavatory has two WCs with painted timber partitions with three-panelled doors.

The landlord's private accommodation on the first and second floors was not inspected.