The Pilot Public House

The Pilot Public House is a public house built in 1938-9 by W. S. Clements for Atkinsons Brewery Ltd. It is located in Coventry and is designated a building of group value.

The building is constructed of red brick with artificial stone dressings, topped with a pantile roof and ridge, eaves, and mid roof stacks. The plan is of a long spine with cross-wings, containing two bars in the right-hand half, a lounge occupying the cross-wing on the far right, and an assembly room in the upper part of the left-hand section.

The front elevation has a main range of nine bays set between the cross-wings. The windows are metal-framed and tall, with strong horizontal detailing and margin lights. There are two doorways, one in the second bay and another in the eighth. The canted cross-wings have windows similar to those in the main range. Ventilators are positioned on the ridges of both cross-wings. To the left is a two-storey, flat-roofed area adjoining a pitched roof extension of the main spine, featuring single-window openings.

The right-hand elevation has a central entrance bay that projects and rises beyond the eaves line, topped with a plain parapet. The doorway is sheltered by a flat canopy with a shaped gable. Metal-framed windows match those of the main range. The left-hand elevation has a canted end wall with metal-framed windows, taller than the main range but otherwise similar. It is flanked by two-storey, flat-roofed abutments. The rear elevation has three cross-wings, the one on the right being canted. A single-storey toilet block is located on the left.

The interior features a Moderne-style lounge, originally two separate rooms divided by a partition. Doorways are framed by light-coloured polished wood dado panelling and generous surrounds; a contemporary mirror is featured on the north wall. The bar counter has a zig-zag profile, with ebonised strips on the projections and the top rail, and a partly contemporary bar back. Toilets are adorned with contemporary tiling. A curved staircase on the left-hand side leads to the assembly room, which has a flattened, curved arched ceiling with a groined effect in the canted section on the south. Large, circular recesses house lighting pendants. Contemporary fixed seating is located near the bar, alongside shelving for customers’ packages and coats. The bar counter and back have been renewed, and the public bar was remodelled in the late 20th century.

The Pilot Public House is considered a good example of a large pub built to serve an industrial suburb of Coventry and is notable for its survival of high-quality Moderne features.