The Brewery Tap

The Brewery Tap is a public house converted to its current use in the 1980s from an earlier vernacular building, possibly originally a farmhouse, that was extended in the early-to-mid 19th century. It is constructed of sandstone brick with ashlar dressings and a stone slate roof, rising to two storeys.

The building comprises two ranges. The main front range runs parallel to Albion Road and dates to the early-to-mid 19th century, whilst an earlier range is attached to the rear left at right angles. A rendered two-storey building formerly known as no. 4 Howgate is attached to the rear right but is not of special interest and is excluded from the listing.

The wide two-bay front range facing Albion Road features a dentilled eaves and quoining to the eastern end. The two bays appear to be part of a single build, although the right (eastern) bay is slightly taller. Each bay contains two-light mullioned windows with horned sashes on both floors. The first-floor left window rises through the eaves as a half-dormer. All windows are set within ashlar surrounds. A doorway lies immediately adjacent to the right bay's ground floor window, with a timber door frame incorporating an overlight and a late-20th-century replacement door. An additional doorway, believed to be a later insertion, exists at the far left of the ground floor. Two chimneystacks sit at each end of the ridge; that to the western end is considerably larger. Two single-light windows matching the style of those on the front elevation light the east gable-end return, along with an additional window forming part of a later lean-to.

The earlier rear range is set at right angles to the front range. Its north gable end is partly obscured by the later former no. 4 Howgate, though substantial quoining is visible to its west edge. The gable end has a two-light mullioned window to the first floor set within an ashlar surround with a chamfered mullion on the interior and containing later frames and glazing. The ground floor has a blocked-up doorway and window, and a further blocked-up window exists at attic level; all retain visible ashlar surrounds.

Interior: A small timber-boarded vestibule leads into an opened-up ground floor with two different floor levels. The western side is slightly higher with a stone flag covering, whilst the eastern side has a later covering of unknown origin. A large stone fireplace exists to the west wall, along with a small square brick and stone recess possibly relating to the building's past use as a bakery. The southern section of the east wall has a rebuilt stone chimneybreast with ashlar jambs to the fire opening and a large timber bressumer above. The centre of the ground-floor space is occupied by a large polygonal bar with a panelled counter, beneath which is a beer cellar with a 19th-century barrel ramp and built-in shelving, indicating earlier use as a public house. The part of the ground floor formed by the rear range contains a substantial chamfered beam running east-west with stops, a boxed-in beam, and an additional beam with no visible stops. Sections of the walls are covered with timber-board panelling, including the left half of the rear wall, which conceals the blocked-up openings of the rear range's north gable end visible on the exterior. There is no stair in either the front or rear ranges; the stair is located at the southern end of the attached former no. 4 Howgate. The upper floor rooms are plain with fireplaces removed. A later corridor inserted alongside the eastern wall incorporates later inserted openings and a corbelled arch towards the southern end, with rooms lying off to the west side and southern end. Sections of two early tie beams are visible in the rear range, but no other timbers are visible. Access to the roof space was not possible.