The Criterion Public House

The Criterion Public House is a symmetrical two-storey and attic building, notable for its unusual gable front. The attic features a jettied design supported by deep fluted brackets and is adorned with East Anglian style foliage pargetting around a small pane casement window. On the first floor, there are panelled pilasters at the ends and a central tripartite window that projects forward in a Jacobean triangular style. Between the pilasters, vertical plasterwork panels depict dragons, foliage, and bowls of fruit, while a horizontal plaster panel below the window showcases dolphins. The ground floor is set back behind a mosaic and lettered pavement and features a panelled ceiling. The central bay is five-sided and rests on a bulbous, bowl-like base, with four-centred arched windows that have slender colonnettes and overlights featuring tulip pattern stained glass. This bay is flanked by panelled doors with similar overlights. The roof is covered in slate.

Inside, the public house boasts an ornate panelled ceiling with moulded ribs and foliage friezes on the main cross beams and cornice. Opposite the bar, there is an Art Nouveau tiled dado.