Former Lamb and Flag Coffee Tavern, Redruth, Cornwall

Summary

Former Lamb and Flag Coffee Tavern, now commercial premises and residential accommodation, 1879-1880, by James Hicks.

Description

Former Lamb and Flag Coffee Tavern, now commercial premises and residential accommodation, 1879-1880, by James Hicks.

MATERIALS: coursed rubble killas stone, granite and Bath stone dressings, with a slate roof.

PLAN: rectangular plan with a canted north-east corner.

EXTERIOR: the former coffee tavern is designed in a Gothic style over two storeys and a basement. The main elevation (east) is three bays wide, symmetrical except for the north-east corner where there is a tower. The elevation is detailed with moulded impost-bands and sill-bands, with a tall, gabled central bay. This breaks forward slightly and contains a wide ground-floor entrance which has a glazed transom and margin-lights around C20 timber double-doors. The entrance is flanked with set-in colonettes under an arched head with roll-mouldings. The extrados is inscribed OPENED BY LADY JANE VIVIAN MAY 13 1880. Foundation stones to the plinth either side of the entrance are dated December 2 1879. The entrance is topped with an ogee arch flanked by carved stone panels with ivy-interlaced raised lettering inscribed COFFEE to the left and TAVERN to the right, between which a bracket carries a carved-stone lamb holding a flagstaff. Flanking the entrance on the ground floor are two large fixed-pane windows with decorative heads; these are C20 replacements. Below are two-light basement windows, and above on the first floor are three casement windows with arched heads, divided by colonettes, flanking a central large three-light window with multifoil head within a two-centred arch. The gable above has flanking pinnacles and an apex finial.

The north-east corner of the building is chamfered, with steps up to a doorway with a C20 door set within a two-centred arch with a central cinquefoil and spandrels either side with the carved-stone letters T and H (for Temperance Hall) interlaced with ivy. On the first floor is a corbelled oriel with windows like those at the front, and a flat-topped conical roof. The north elevation has a large mullion and transom window at first floor level, with paired arch-heads; there is a further paired window to the basement. The west side of the building directly abuts the Buttermarket, and the south elevation is blind.

INTERIOR: altered.

History

The temperance movement had its beginnings in 1833 in Preston, Lancashire when Joseph Livesey, a leader in the movement to abstain from all intoxicating liquors, opened the first temperance hotel. Temperance was a response to the 1830 Beerhouse Act which allowed anyone to sell beer, which at first was thought to be less of a threat than spirits, but soon was also frowned upon. Although there were temperance societies, religious groups and non-conformist sects also took up abstinence. As a result, this led to the need for buildings in which social and educational gatherings could be held and where entertainment and refreshments could be provided in a teetotal environment. The coffee-house culture prevailed, and purpose-built establishments were often of ambitious scale and took on the appearance of public houses in an attempt to seem a credible alternative to such establishments.

In 1878 the Church of England Temperance Society held meetings and formed branches in Cornwall, and it was reported in early 1879 that they were establishing a coffee tavern in Redruth although no suitable premises had been found. Temperance work in Redruth appears to have gathered speed in that year, with the formation of the Redruth Total Abstinence Society and regular lectures at all of the Dissenting chapels by the Reverend JM Morrell. The construction of ‘a large temperance hall with coffee rooms adjacent to the new bank and post office’ was announced in June 1879. The temperance committee comprised leading teetotallers and included many familiar names from the commercial community. These included its treasurer, Mr DW Bain (1829-1898) who was not only a staunch supporter of temperance but also actively associated with the mining and smelting industries and founded the Redruth District Bank, along with TW Field and MT Hitchins, in 1879.

Until the mid-C19 Redruth’s centre of commerce was West End; this changed in 1852 when the railway station was built near the market house (built 1825-1826), the commercial benefits of convenience were realised, and Alma Place became a focal point for future development. James Hicks was contracted as the architect for the coffee tavern in September 1879, around the same time as he was designing other buildings on Alma Place as part of its redevelopment into an economic hub. Bain, Field, Hitchins and Co were instrumental in the construction of a whole block of buildings on Alma Place, the land for which was owned by Gustavus Lambert Basset of Tehidy (1834-1888). The block comprised a mining exchange, the Redruth District Bank, a post office and the coffee tavern. A purser’s office was added to the south of the group in 1883.

James Hicks (1846-1896) was born in Redruth and lived in the town for his entire life. By the age of 25 Hicks had set up his own practice; an early commission was the remodelling of Tolvean on West End, Redruth for Alfred Lanyon, a prominent Redruthian who had amassed a fortune through investment in commercial, industrial and private buildings. Hicks’ relationships with businessmen and industrialists continued during his career, and for ten years he was the local agent for Lord Clinton. The bulk of Hicks’ work comprised public buildings including chapels and schools throughout Cornwall, but from the mid-1870s he began to have an influence on the building stock, and the civil direction, of his hometown. In 1883 he acquired the lease for the nearby Carn Marth granite quarries from Lord Clinton and James Buller, forming the Cornish Granite and Freestone Company. The company took their fair share of new building contracts in Redruth, highlighting his interest in the wellbeing of the town. In 1894 Hicks became the first President of the Ratepayer’s Association and was a member of Redruth Urban District Council from 1895. Hicks’ first wife, Lydia, was an ardent promoter of the Redruth branch of the British Women’s Temperance Association, and was their secretary in 1888.

Two foundation stones were laid at the site of the coffee tavern on 2 December 1879 by Mrs Bain and Mrs Field, the wives of the founders of the Redruth District Bank. The coffee tavern was constructed by Mr Hodge and Mr Gray of Redruth and cost £800, half of which came from public subscription. It was opened on 13 May 1880 by Lady Jane Vivian accompanied by her husband, Sir Arthur Pendarves Vivian MP, preceded by a grand luncheon, toasted with ginger ale, at the Druid’s Hall.

When the building was opened it comprised a coffee tavern on the ground floor, divided into three rooms including the public counter and space for private parties. The kitchens and storerooms were located in the basement. On the first floor was a temperance hall capable of holding 120 people; the hall had a separate entrance on the north corner. The coffee tavern was given the name ‘Lamb & Flag’ (the symbol of Cornwall’s tin industry) and a representation carved by Harry Hems of Exeter placed over the main entrance; Hems also executed other stone-carving on the building. Alongside being able to sit in for refreshments, customers were able to buy supplies of tea. The poor were given tokens which they could use at the tavern to buy tea, coffee and newspapers.

To avoid divided responsibility between the temperance committee, the coffee tavern was rented to Mr RS Edwards, a trustee of the committee, for £25 a year. He provided the internal fittings at his own expense and was allowed to use the temperance hall when it was not otherwise in use; the temperance hall was managed by the trustees. The buildings were held for 66 years from Basset, at a ‘nominal high rent’, and he also contributed to the building fund. In 1886 a committee was formed to purchase the freehold of the building from Basset; the money was to be raised by subscription in order to avoid any addition to the building debt.

In 1887 Walter Andrew became manager and added a dairy business for the supply of milk, cream and eggs. From 1901 the coffee tavern was managed by Joseph Rowe; he supplied the refreshments for the 1908 Redruth Great Show which included wines and spirits, and in 1912, HT Smith supplied wines and spirits for the show that year. These events perhaps mark a change in the devotion to temperance in Redruth, for outside catering at least. In the early-C20 the building was the headquarters of Redruth Rugby Club, and in 1939 the temperance hall was being used as a ‘Gold Depot’ for the exchange of broken jewellery for cash. A small fire in July 1986, whilst the ground floor was in use as a fish and chip shop, may have resulted in the loss of some historic features. The hall was converted into residential accommodation in the 1990s.

Reasons for Listing

The former Lamb and Flag Coffee Tavern on Alma Place, Redruth is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* as a characterful example of the work of Redruth’s principal C19 architect, James Hicks;
* the Gothic architectural style of the building with its corner tower makes a strategic contribution to the streetscape of Alma Place;

Historic interest:

* as a significant component in the late-C19 post-mining building boom in Redruth, many buildings for which were designed by Hicks;
* as a purpose-built temperance tavern and hall, implemented and supported by prominent Redruthians into the early C20;

Group value:

* with the former Redruth District Bank, mining exchange and Wheal Peevor purser’s office on Alma Place, designed by James Hicks between 1880 and 1882, and listed at Grade II.

External Links

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