Hand and Shears Public House

Hand and Shears Public House

A public house occupying a prominent corner plot, rebuilt in around 1850 and internally remodelled in 1896 with further minor alterations in the 20th century.

The building is constructed of London stock brick with a painted timber pub frontage incorporating leaded windows. The exterior presents three bays to Middle Street and two to Kinghorn Street. The upper three storeys have multi-paned sash windows recessed in segment-headed panels, a form typical of London in the early to mid-19th century. A shallow double-range roof, hipped to the west, is set back behind the parapet and concealed from street view.

The pub frontage is divided into bays by applied piers featuring incised Soanian detail and thin Ionic half-fluted columns marking the bar entrances. Fielded-panel stall risers sit beneath the bar room windows, all of which are leaded multi-paned types, probably dating from the 1920s. The corner entrance comprises a pair of curved doors, part-glazed with bar room signage integrated within the leaded glazing. The bar doors to either side are similarly part-glazed. A wrought-iron panel marking the saloon bar sits above the tiled vestibule entrance to Kinghorn Street. At the far south end of the Kinghorn Street frontage is an arch-headed opening in the wall leading to a flight of stairs to the first floor, originally providing access to a rear yard behind the saloon bar. The glazed lamps to the bar entrances are modern additions of traditional design.

The ground floor is arranged around a central servery connecting to four distinct bar areas, allowing service and supervision of each part. The rear saloon bar, accessed from the Kinghorn Street entrance, is the southernmost room and was originally termed the 'bar parlour'. A small private bar with a separate door from the same vestibule is divided from the main public bar by a screen with an opening. The easternmost room, accessed via Middle Street doors, is the former dining room, now essentially part of the main public bar with an opening in the screen. A private office, WC and stairs occupy the south end of the room. The stairs lead to an L-shaped dining room, kitchen and WC above.

The counter front to the former dining room features a matchboard section, whereas all other parts have fielded panels divided by stanchions with consoles meeting the counter top. At the centre of the servery is an island bar-back fitting (termed a 'waggon' on the 1896 plans) with shelving and backing of etched and frosted mirror panels on both sides. The servery in its present form is principally the product of the 1896 remodelling, though the counter sections to the private and public bars remained in their original alignment, as marked in the 1857 conveyance, and may date from around 1850, with later elements built to match. High-level diagonal shelving is an addition of the 1989 refurbishment, and pot-shelves suspended above the counters are more recent.

Partitions between the bars have glazed upper sections, except where the public bar is screened from the former dining room. Openings have been introduced to allow movement between areas, except between the private bar and saloon bar, which connect via the entrance vestibule. Each bar room has simple matchboard panelling, much of which is probably original, though some sections are known to be later. Brick and tile fireplaces of the 1920s are positioned in the rear saloon bar and former dining room, both now painted over.

The upper dining and function room features an L-shaped plan with a servery at its east end, remodelled by Newnham for Barclay Perkins in 1926–1927. Skirting, simple plaster cornice, dado and picture rails are retained, though the servery has been reworked and the hatch widened as part of 1989 alterations. The WCs have been refitted. The cellar, first-floor kitchen and private upper floors were not inspected.