BIRMINGHAM, MARLBOROUGH, 170 Anderton Rd, Sparkbrook, B11 1ND. 0121 772 2459

Great news. Following an application by CAMRA, this fine red-brick-and-terracotta pub in the inner Birmingham suburbs has been listed at Grade II by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. This means that any proposed changes will have to be thought through very carefully and there will be a presumption against unsuitable work. Those of you who know the Real Heritage Pubs of Birmingham will be familiar with the Bartons Arms, the Anchor, the White Swan and the Woodman, which have a very distinctive style of architecture. The Marlborough is in the same mould. Built in 1900, it retains its three-room layout, lots of internal tiling and some fine fittings. No real ale unfortunately.See the entry on the Heritage Pubs web site.

LONDON, TOTTENHAM, 6 Oxford Street, W1D 1AN.

This Part Two pub has been upgraded in the statutory list from Grade II to II*. This is as the result of re-evaluation by English Heritage of the area around Tottenham Court Road Tube station which is subject to heavy redevelopment pressures. The upgrading of this tall, narrow and very elegant Flemish Renaissance-style building of 1892 with a splendidly rich contemporary interior should give it a greatly enhanced chance of surviving an pressures to demolish. See the entry on the Heritage Pubs web site.

BIRMINGHAM, BLACK HORSE, Bristol Road South, Northfield, B31 2QT.

More good news from Brum. This great interwar brewers’ Tudor pub, where its sheer size has been a concern in these hard times for the pub trade, has been taken over by Wetherspoon’s and is due to reopen in the New Year. Architects RJD of Great Dunmow in Essex are in charge of the work and they tell us: ‘We have met the conservation officer from Birmingham City council, have researched the original as-built plans from 1927, and have tailored our scheme to restore much of the ground floor to its original layout. We obviously intend to retain, and restore where necessary the ornate ceilings, timber panelling, fireplaces etc. Our proposal also includes for reintroducing food hoists to serve the first floor from the ground floor kitchen, to make using the first floor a viable concern. We will be working closely with the conservation officer, and hope to welcome CAMRA members to view the results when we reopen in the New Year.’ Sounds like very good news.See the entry on the Heritage Pubs web site.

SOMERSET NEWS

Mike Jackson has learned that Ivan and Glenda Swift, owners and landlords of Tucker’s Grave Inn, Faulkland (Part One), for 25 years are retiring. They are offering the pub for sale at £500,000. See the entry on the Heritage Pubs web site.

He has also been advised that the Long Acre Tavern, Bath (Part One), has now been sold by Wadworth’s to a private individual. It is currently being offered ‘for let’ but we do not know whether it will re-open as a pub. See the entry on the Heritage Pubs web site.

LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD

Well, the last bulletin of the year and, indeed, the last of the Noughties. Looking back over the past ten years a huge amount has been achieved. CAMRA has played a major role in getting pubs with historic interiors statutorily listed; a number of them higher graded; and descriptions of the historic interiors of many greatly improved; it now makes the pubs included on the National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors available on www.heritagepubs.org.uk for all to see; it has produced books and guides (London, Scotland, North-East, East Anglia); and there is greatly increased public awareness. True, there have been sad losses and pubs can expect to remain under pressure for reasons we know well. But, as the first three items in this bulletin show, there are reasons for optimism, and with everyone’s support, ten years from now, I’d expect our best pub interiors to be even better protected and better known and appreciated than they are now. Publications will continue and you may expect guides for Wales and Yorkshire before too long. A little story to end: a Pub Heritage Group member, Chris Witt, was on the Underground in central London recently and overheard a group of lads out for a night on the beer discussing where to imbibe it. Rejecting the suggestions already made, one spoke up, ’No, what we should do is go to some of those National Inventory pubs. They’re brilliant.’ Yup, they are too!

Geoff Brandwood