The Paul Pry Public House And Attached Rear Wall

The Paul Pry Public House and Attached Rear Wall

Public house and attached rear wall, dated 1901. Designed by architect Frederick Hughes for R Allen and Sons, Brewers. The building occupies an irregular corner site on The Butts in Worcester and is wedge-shaped in plan, with the right end canted towards the street.

The exterior is constructed of red brick in Flemish bond with limestone ashlar bands and architraves. The roof is hipped with plain tiles and decorative pierced ridge tiles. There are three chimney stacks: an off-centre right ridge stack to the front with moulded band, cornice and pots, a similar stack to the rear right, and a brick stack with oversailing course and pots to the rear range.

The building is two storeys high with three first-floor windows. The narrow central bay breaks forward with a small gable. Ashlar detailing includes an ovolo-moulded architrave to the entrance with stepped keystone, pilasters, cornice and segmental pediment. A continuous sill band runs across the façade, ovolo-moulded except for plain chamfered sills, surmounted by further similar pilasters to the left and to the windows, with flower ornament to the frieze. The continuous frieze is raised over the pilasters, and the cornice features ovolo-, triple step-, and ovolo-moulding.

Large stone 4-light segmental oriels occupy the first floor in the outer bays, with enriched foliate soffits on acanthus console brackets with cartouches, torus-moulded mullions and transoms, and ovolo-moulded surrounds. A continuous band runs at sill level. The central window has a plain apron and similarly moulded mullions and transoms. The main entablature cornice breaks forward and is plain over the oriels and central window; elsewhere the frieze is enriched with foliate and inverted shell motifs, with an ovolo-moulded cornice.

At ground floor level, either side of the entrance are paired mullion and transom windows with panelled timber mullions and dentil transoms, with fanlights to the upper rectangular lights. The central entrance features a panelled door with central circular motif and a fanlight. The first floor has 6-over-1 sashes with transom, and a gable over the central window. The right return, canted to face the street, continues the entablature and strings. A full-height basket-shaped bay has a similar pilastered surround and 3-light window with timber mullions and transoms at ground floor level and 1:2:1 windows at first floor with 6-over-1 sashes, with a gable over. Windows to the bar at right have etched glass denoting 'BAR'.

The rear elevation to Infirmary Walk comprises a main range of two storeys with two first-floor windows and a single-storey range at the right (west). Ashlar detailing matches the front façade. Similar 2-light mullion-and-transom windows and a similar entrance with segmental pediment are present. The first floor has two 2-light mullion-and-transom windows with 6-over-1 sashes. A continuous decorated frieze runs across, plain over the windows.

The interior remains largely intact with original features. The entrance hall and lobby feature glazed decorative tiles in panels with dado. The lower panels display foliage in relief with a frieze, and the upper panels show a floral motif. Double doors with etched glass lead to the lobby with further tiling. The hall and bar have floors of marble intarsia. Lincrusta moulded ceilings display a strapwork motif. The lounge bar to the left retains a lincrusta frieze and embossed ceiling, with benches around the walls and a timber chimneypiece incorporating a mirror, cast-iron grate, and decorative tile surround with masks. The bar features a door with etched glass, benches incorporated into the panelled dado, and a fireplace. A quadrant main bar has a panelled front with consoles and mahogany counter. The elaborate bar back features balusters to round-arch mirrors with a centrepiece pedimented upshot containing a clock, and a balustrade with surmounting urns. The staircase to the rear wall has a rod on vase balusters. Decorative cornices and friezes are said to remain on the first floor.

The attached rear wall features brick pilasters on a plinth, an ashlar cornice, a parapet with cornice ramped down over the entrance, and an off-centre left entrance with a renewed plank door under a cambered arch.

The building displays Art Nouveau detailing throughout and is a very good example of a purpose-built late Victorian public house, retaining many original features.