The Coach And Horses Public House

THE COACH AND HORSES PUBLIC HOUSE

Public house. Built in 1937 from plans dated 1936 by the Doncaster architects' practice Wilburn & Atkinson, commissioned by brewers Whitworth, Son & Nephew of Wath upon Dearne. The building is a purpose-built replacement for an older establishment of the same name that stood on the opposite side of High Street. It represents an 'improved' inter-war pub design, executed in Vernacular Revival style. The structure features rendered walls painted cream, brick porches, brick and stone dressings, small tiles, and rendered and brick stacks.

The pub is a freestanding angled building comprising two storeys with cellars, set in a generous site with lawn and parking. Two wings are built gable-end on at right angles to each other, with a lower angled infill between their inner faces featuring deep overhanging eaves and containing the main entrance. Additional two-storey sections are stepped back and attached to each wing; the right-hand range incorporates a mansard pitched roof and a tall ridge stack.

The interior is arranged with rooms distributed along a common, elongated servery area to the rear. The layout includes out-sales with a separate entrance, a main entrance opening into a drinking lobby, a refreshment room (now games room) to the left, a smoke room to the right, a public bar with its own separate entrance, and WCs positioned to each side of the main entrance and to the far right. A hall to the rear of the servery contains a staircase to first-floor accommodation and cellar steps. A wash house and coal store are attached to the rear.

Externally, the building displays considerable architectural detailing. The main entrance features a stepped brick door surround with two stone steps, double doors with vertical battens and metal studs, decorative strap hinges, stained glass panels to each door, and a rectangular stained glass overlight. Windows flanking the doorway have brick soldier lintels, stone sills, and multi-pane timber casements. Two dormer windows sit above the entrance. Each wing contains a tall stack to its inner face, large windows to ground and first floors, and brick detailing to the gable. The left wing is flanked by a two-storey lean-to section with a porch canopy and door matching the main entrance treatment. The right wing is adjoined by a range with a mansard pitched roof, which includes a central brick entrance porch with stepped side buttresses, flat overhanging roof, curved and straight stone steps, and paired doors with stained glass panels and overlight. A single-storey WC block with pitched roof is stepped back and attached. Subsidiary elevations contain windows of varying sizes, all with brick soldier lintels and stone sills and multi-pane timber casements, with a single dormer to the rear of the two-storey range.

The interior retains many original fixtures and fittings. Both main entrances feature lobbies with part-tiled walls in cream, brown, and black tiles arranged in geometric patterns, and terrazzo flooring. Double doors retain multi-pane leaded side lights and overlights using clear glass with textured glass bands. All servery counters preserve their original sash screens featuring multi-pane leaded lights with textured glass bands and roundels of painted glass depicting wheatsheaves, the trademark of Whitworth's brewery. The refreshment room retains lower sliding sashes and an intact counter with original wooden front incorporating two horizontal strips of green-painted wood and leatherette inlays to the counter top. A substantial custom-made bar back-fitting survives, featuring shelving, multiple drawers with brass handles, and a simple art-deco pedimented top. Original fixed seating remains in the smoke room and public bar, with wooden baffle screens in the public bar containing inset panels of leaded glass with textured glass bands. The smoke room and refreshment room retain their original bell pushes. Room ceilings feature deep curving plain covings. WCs retain original floor tiling in white and dark green ('ladies') and white and black ('gents'), respecting partition lines. Original white and black wall tiles remain in most WCs, now painted over. All fireplaces are modern replacements.

Whitworth, Son & Nephew were local brewers established in the mid-19th century who by the mid-1930s had developed a pub estate of approximately 160 houses throughout the coalfield areas of South Yorkshire and into Rotherham and Sheffield. Wilburn & Atkinson were a Doncaster architects' practice active throughout much of the 20th century. The Coach & Horses was approved by the local authority in 1936 and built in 1937 to the original plans.