Excellent news about safeguarding two of our precious Part One historic pub interiors.

GREATER LONDON, EASTBROOK, Dagenham Road, Dagenham RM10 7UP. 020 8592 1873

Listed at Grade II* - which puts it among the top 6 per cent of England’s listed buildings, a high honour indeed. This is a large estate pub of 1937 built for G A Smith & Sons who were wine merchants and off-sales owners. Previously it was not even listed at all, and so, like the marvellous interwar Test Match at West Bridgford near Nottingham a few years back, has gone from having effectively no protection to having a high level of it.

Now Dagenham may not be everybody’s choice for a day out but this pub is a stunner and worth making the trip to see (and yes, it does have real ale). It is fully described in CAMRA’s book London Heritage Pubs: An Inside Story which I wrote with Jane Jephcote last year but the essence is this. There are two separate bars of very different characters – the Oak Room and the Walnut Room. The former is the public bar and is splendid ‘brewers’ Tudor’ while the latter has wonderful walnut woodwork and Art Deco mirrors. There is also a large function room called the Music Room which name is illustrated by the stained glass with musical instruments.

It’s not too hard to get to actually - District Line to Dagenham East, then N (103 bus) up Rainham Road for just over half a mile to the junction with Dagenham Lane where the pub sits. The 103 bus can also be caught in Romford. See the entry on the Heritage Pubs web site.

GREATER LONDON, BEEHIVE, Stoneleigh Road, Tottenham N17 9BQ. 020 8808 3567.

Listed at Grade II. This is another interwar pub, in this case of 1927. The multi-room layout is intact apart from the loss of a sliding screen in the right hand part which used to separate the Saloon Lounge from the Luncheon Room. There are lots of good things here but the most unusual is the way all the doors were numbered (up to 20 in the Luncheon Room). It was standard practice to number rooms until the 1960s to identify them for reference by the Customs and Excise but doors is another matter altogether. Anyone know any other examples? See the entry on the Heritage Pubs web site.

BIRMINGHAM, WOODMAN, 106 Albert Street, Digbeth, B5 5LG.

Reported as closed. This Grade II-listed pub has had an on and off history in recent years but we hope it will eventually have a new lease of life once the Eastside development goes ahead. See the entry on the Heritage Pubs web site.

DEVON, LUPPITT INN, Luppitt, Honiton, EX14 4RT.

Mrs Mary Wright of the Luppitt Inn, Luppitt recently spent a short spell in hospital and the pub is currently closed. However, she is hopeful of reopening soon so always ring 01404 891613 if wanting to pay a visit to this amazing unspoilt farm pub. See the entry on the Heritage Pubs web site.

Geoff Brandwood