Prince Arthur

The Prince Arthur is a public house, built in the mid-19th century, with significant remodelling around 1905. It is constructed of brown brick with a tiled ground floor facade and polychrome detailing in black and buff brick above. The roof is covered in Welsh slate, and the building has brick ridge stacks. The plan is trapezoidal, with a central servery surrounded by an L-shaped public bar at the front and an L-shaped corridor behind. A smoke room and toilets are located at the rear.

The exterior is three storeys high. The ground floor features entrances on Rice Lane (left and at the corner, one blocked) and on the return. These entrances are framed by deep red tiles and polished larvikite pilasters with terracotta capitals, some topped with wreath-like circles. The ground floor windows are divided into irregular compartments and contain etched and coloured glass. A glazed fascia board states “THE PRINCE ARTHUR” and “WALKER’S WARRINGTON ALES” in gold lettering against a maroon ground. A timber cornice sits below the first-floor windows. The first and second floors each have four four-light sash windows with glazing bars; the second-floor windows are smaller. The roof pitch over the two left bays on Rice Lane is lower than the rest.

Inside, there are internal porches to the entrances. The servery is trapezoidal, with rounded corners and a short side facing south. The counter front and dados of the corridor and public bar are covered in red tiles with yellow and blue trails and swags. A screen with Art Nouveau-style coloured glass and timberwork, including serving hatches, is located behind the rear bar counter, with a similar screen and hatch on the short-side bar counter. There are two short, glazed projections attached to the counter in the public bar. The contemporary bar back includes shelving. The smoke room has double doors with etched glass identifying it as such, fixed seating, and bell pushes, with baffles flanking the entrance to the ladies’ toilet. A mosaic floor runs through the corridor leading to the gents’ toilets, which also features a urinal by Musgraves of Liverpool. The Prince Arthur represents a fine example of an urban public house, retaining its original plan and its lavish, complete furnishing and decorative scheme.