The Nursery Inn

The Nursery Inn

Public house built in 1939 for Hydes Brewery. The building is constructed in brick with a rendered first floor and Italian tile roof with brick stacks.

The plan is organised around a central bar serving multiple rooms. The main entrance on the east elevation leads to a drinking lobby, which gives access to front and rear lounges on either side of the central bar, and through to a bowling green at the rear of the building. A staircase from the lobby leads to an upstairs lobby providing access to a function room, sundeck and the manager's domestic quarters. A secondary entrance on the south elevation opens to the vault (public bar) and an off-sales counter, both served by the central bar.

The exterior is suburban in character and architecturally restrained. The building is almost square, being double fronted and double depth, with five first floor windows to the front and six openings to the side. The windows are metal framed casements with divided lights. The roof is hipped with overhanging eaves and tall brick stacks. The central part of the rear of the building is single storey, forming a first floor sundeck, with the ground floor extended slightly as a broad bow-fronted window overlooking the bowling green. The three public entrances—front, rear and side—all have simple 1930s style canopies with curved corners. The larger canopy to the rear and the metal fire escape to the side are recent additions of no special interest.

Interior features of special note include the central bar, which is streamlined with counters serving all rooms and the drinking lobby, and a sliding hatch to the off-sales area. Above each counter is a continuous decorative frieze of glazed panels, reported to be screen-printed silk, featuring a 1930s stylised depiction of a bar counter complete with hand pumps and glasses.

The drinking lobby has terrazzo to the floor and walls to picture rail height, including the picture rail and door cases. Much of this terrazzo is currently covered by later carpet and panelling. Original features in this area include a 1930s styled staircase, globe ceiling light fittings, toilet signage, and inner swing doors to the rear featuring stained glass. The ceiling is deeply coved. The inner entrance doors to the front are modern additions.

The front lounge features light oak panelling to picture rail height on all walls, fitted bench seating with bell pushes, and part-glazed baffle screens on both sides of the doorway. A 1930s moulded brick fireplace is present. The windows include scattered stained glass panels depicting gardening tools or plants. Ceiling light fittings with glass shades are hung on chains.

The rear lounge has fitted bench seating with bell pushes above the seat backs and a part-glazed oak baffle screen adjacent to the doorway. Windows feature further horticultural themed stained glass. The ceiling light fittings are probably original but differ in pattern from those in the front lounge and drinking lobby. The cast iron and tiled fireplace is reported to be a later replacement, although in keeping with the original interior style, and is set in an original timber surround with mirrored over-mantle.

The vault (public bar) features panelling to dado behind fitted bench seating with a short part-glazed screen next to the entrance. A tiled fireplace is present. One of the ceiling lights is similar to those in the drinking lobby. Between the bar counter and entrance, with its original part-glazed door, is a part-glazed timber partition continuing the line of the bar to enclose the off-sales counter, accessed via a door off the small entrance lobby to the vault.

The toilets, apart from the ladies' downstairs which have been modernised, retain terrazzo tiled floors and original tiling to a high level. The gents' toilet contains two original urinals for the public bar (vault), three for the lounge, and one large urinal upstairs.

The function room on the first floor appears largely refitted, however the rest of the first floor retains original joinery and signage. The manager's domestic accommodation was not inspected.