The Apple Tree

THE APPLE TREE

Public house on Lowther Street, Carlisle, designed in 1925 by Harry Redfern, architect for the State Management Scheme in Carlisle (known as 'The Carlisle Undertaking'). The building has undergone late 20th century alterations. It is constructed of red brick with sandstone and terracotta dressings, beneath a Lake District slate roof.

The plan forms a U-shape with a small rear yard, now infilled. The front elevation to the east presents two storeys with attics and a five-bay front. The outer bays are slightly advanced and expressed as towers rising to three storeys. The ground floor contains entrance frontage with double doorways to the outer and centre bays. The centre bay is flanked by large square window openings with tripartite frames. Double pilasters in pale terracotta rise from a deep plinth on either side of these windows, supporting a frieze. The door surrounds to the end tower entrances are also of terracotta. The first floor features five tall stone mullion and transom windows with ashlar aprons and lintels forming an eaves band across the central three bays, beneath a mansard roof with three wedge dormer windows of 3 lights each. The tower heads have gablets, each containing a 5-light mullioned window set within ashlar walling.

The south elevation contains separate side entrances to the former mixed and women's bars. The former mixed bar section measures two bays wide and two storeys high, while the latter is lower with a pedimented door head.

The ground floor has been substantially altered and remodelled with a late 20th century bar counter and back bar positioned as a central island, replacing the original arrangement. The first floor retains its original plan form with a central bar counter serving the former 'mixed 1st class' and 'mens first class' areas. The mens first class area is lit by clerestory lights and features throughout painted friezes and murals depicting mythological scenes. It contains panelled bar counters, overlights with glazing bars, wall panelling, and a cast-iron fireplace with moulded surround and overmantel panel, flanked by a doorway to the original toilet area. The mixed 1st class area has fabric-faced panelling incorporating a 3-light timber mullioned window to light the service stair, and a hearth with surround and overmantel panelling. The mullion and transom windows throughout feature leaded lights incorporating an apple tree motif in the upper lights. A panelled bar with overlights and half-glazed doors provides access to the main stair, which has a gate restricting access to the attic floor.

The 'Carlisle Undertaking' represented the most significant of three schemes of complete Government control of the supply of intoxicants introduced in 1916. The State Management Board appointed Harry Redfern as principal architect, commissioning him to remodel existing public houses and design new 'improved' houses, of which The Apple Tree was the first. Despite alterations to the ground floor, the building remains a significant example of the State Management Scheme's work in Carlisle, influencing the design of improved public houses throughout Britain during the Inter-War period. The survival of the first floor plan, furnishings and fittings is of particular importance, as such provision was regarded as experimental at the time, offering segregated areas for different combinations of sexes and social classes.