Frews Bar, 117 Strathmartine Road

H and F Thomson, 1915, Alex Fair, wood carver and John Scott, joiner; 1934 Art Deco bar. Unusually fine, 3-bar interior to deceptively typical Dundee public house occupying ground floor of 4-storey tenement with canted corner on prominent corner site and retaining original metal windows with leaded coloured glass and etched glass. Squared and snecked rubble with raised lugged margins and quoin strips, and bracketted cills to Strathmartine Road elevation; eaves course and dominant shouldered wallhead stacks.

FURTHER DESCRIPTION: simple ground floor bar with 'FREWS' in plain lettering to fascia: main entrance to NW in narrow canted corner bay with 2 large windows to right (Strathmartine Road) and 1 window to left (Moncur Crescent), each with coloured leaded glass depicting plough (see Notes) flanked by thistles to 3 lower lights, and Frews etched in centre light above. N (Moncur Crescent) elevation with outer left door and adjacent 15-pane window etched with 'FREWS' and Art Deco chevrons alternating across centre lights. Further door at W (Strathmartine Road) elevation. Upper floors of tenement with regular fenestration, 4-bay to W, 5-bay to N and single windows to canted corner bay.

INTERIOR: well-detailed interior comprising 3 bars. Large public bar (predominantly of 1915) with timber panelling, moulded cornices and anaglypta ceiling; back gantry with some additions but retaining original bevelled mirror panels; large inglenook fireplace with carved detail to frieze incorporating crossed long stem pipes flanked by tobacco jars, that to right with following inscription on back (see Notes). Very fine Art Deco 'Sporting' bar (dating from 1934), retaining panelled walls, copper-fronted quarter-circle bar, counter front and back gantry, fireplace, fixed seating and tables. Further inter-war lounge bar with timber-panelled walls, brass bell-pushes and later counter.