Samson And Lion Public House

SP 18 NW 997/8/10175

BIRMINGHAM YARDLEY GREEN ROAD Bordesley Green Number 42, Samson and Lion Public House

II

Public House and attached dwelling. 1913-15 by Arthur Edwards for Holders Brewery Ltd. Red brick with buff terracotta detailing and black brick diapering. Clay tiled roof, with coped gables and end and ridge stacks. PLAN. L-shaped plan on corner site with symmetrical frontage range and with attached dwelling extending along Blakeland Street. EXTERIOR. Symmetrical 2-storey front of 3 bays to Yardley Green Road with secondary entrance bay attached to left-hand gable. 2 full-height canted bays flank the central entrance. Both doorways set beneath projecting, round-arched canopies with dentil ornament under the soffits. Ground floor bay windows of 1:3:1 lights with transoms; first floor windows, similarly detailed but without transoms, break through the eaves line and terminate in plain parapets. All window and door surrounds of terracotta. Circular clock above the central entrance, mounted on iron brackets. Bases of 2 former ventilators on the ridge. The Blakeland Street facade extends at right angles to the frontage range, of 2 storeys with windows in various 1-, 2- and 3-light arrangements, some with transoms. Attached publican's dwelling with a separate entrance bearing the date 1914 on the lintel. 2 coped gables break the eaves line. 3 closely-set doorways under square heads and with rectangular overlights. INTERIOR. Main range with 2 front bars, with central servery and smoke room to rear,. Original bar back with shallow elliptical arches enclosing brown brick and mirrors behind. Partition between the 2 parts of the main bar with 3 etched glass panels. Fixed wall seating. Upper lights in smoke room windows with stained glass depicting various flags including those of First World War allies. Original fire surrounds in smoke room. Staircase with plain square and pierced rectangular balusters. Well-detailed and little altered early C20 public house which illustrates the shift of emphasis from lavish decoration and opulence to greater restraint, simplicity and decency in the design of early C20 premises. SOURCE: Birmingham Archive, Building Plans 24936.

Listing NGR: SP1095686490