King George V Public House

The King George V Public House, located on Bristol Road in Northfield, was built in 1935 by John Burgess Surman for Mitchells and Butlers. It is a building of group value, representing a significant example of interwar roadhouse design.

The building is constructed of rendered brick with an ashlar plinth and stone dressings, and features plain tile gabled roofs. Rendered stacks are present, with moulded stone caps and weathering to the set-offs.

The plan follows a "butterfly" design, with a central range housing the public bar, beer store, and entrances. Angled wings flank the central section, containing smoke rooms and services, with assembly/dining and function rooms situated above.

The architectural style is Jacobean Domestic Revival. The symmetrical south front has a 1:2:1:2:1 bay arrangement, with gabled end bays angled to extend to the rear. A smaller gable above the central projection includes a 3-centred arch doorway with a high label, carved panels, and an overlight. Large 4-light mullion-transom windows are situated on either side of the doorway, with 3-centred arch doorways and larger mullion-transom overlights beyond. The outer gabled bays feature 4-light mullion-transom windows. Smaller windows are found on the first floor, all with stone frames and leaded panes. The east side has a large canted bay window with stone mullions and transoms, while the west side has a segmental arch carriageway with pilasters and a Tudor arch doorway with overlight. At the rear, the north-west wing has a truncated lateral stack and stone mullion-transom windows. Other rear windows have timber mullion-transom frames with leaded panes.

Internally, most of the original bar fittings on the ground floor have been replaced. The first-floor assembly/dining room retains a timber queen-post roof with curved braces and mouldings to the tie-beams and purlins. The room also features wall panelling, a stone 3-centred arch chimneypiece with an enriched cornice shelf, linen-fold panelling, and moulded plaster depictions of a heraldic lion and dog. The first-floor function room in the north-west wing boasts a plaster barrel-vaulted ceiling with moulded ribs, wall panelling, and a stone chimneypiece with a moulded 3-centred arch and carved cornice shelf.

The King George V is a good example of a large Birmingham road house.