The Vine Public House

895-1/0/10046 LICHFIELD ROAD 10-JUN-02 35 The Vine Public House

II

Public house. 1938. Brick, mostly laid to Flemish bond with tile banding; parapetted plain tile roof with tall end stacks. PLAN: Public Bar to left and Smoke Room to right of main entrance, both being served by a central bar area; doors from these rooms to the rear stair hall and a Smoking Room one the left-hand side of the rear wing. EXTERIOR: 2 storeys. 3-window front, the main door with overlight set in a chamfered stone surround crowned by a stepped panel with THE VINE set in decorative glazed tile plaque. Leaded steel casements in brick-mullioned and transomed 4-light windows to ground floor and 3-light brick-mullioned windows flanking central light to first floor. Gable end walls are slightly canted.

INTERIOR: Leaded lights and brass plates (with names of rooms) and fitments to all doors in main ground floor areas, which also have terrazzo flooring. Glazed tile fireplaces, except artifical stone fireplace with stop-chamfered moulded surround in Smoke Room. All bars have original settles around the walls, those to the Public Bar being upholstered. Stained panels showing room names and grape clusters to the front windows, there being similar decorative panels to the other elevations. Open-well stair is a mix of Vernacular Revival and Art Deco, the newel posts having finials and pendentives but the balustrading being typically 'moderne' in style.

HISTORY: This pub stands out as an exceptionally (possibly unique) complete example of a small pub interior of the inter-war period. It was built in 1938, the choice of style displaying a fusion of both English Domestic and North European (particularly Dutch) architecture. The interior rooms, which are also embellished by stained glass panels to the windows, have remained in an unaltered state with settles, door furniture and other fittings which display differing degrees of elaboration between the Smoke Room and Public Bar.

The Campaign for Real Ale and English Heritage have compiled an inventory of historic pub interiors. This has established the national importance of this example. It is not strictly comparable to more high-status pubs of the period, of which some 12 are listed including the Fox at Bix, Oxfordshire (the most complete roadhouse of the period), the Bath Hotel in Sheffield, the Margaret Catchpole in Ipswich (II) or the Test Match in West Bridgford (II).