Summary

Public house, converted in the 1980s from an earlier vernacular building (possibly a farmhouse originally) that was extended in the early-mid C19. Sandstone 'brick' construction with ashlar dressings and stone slate roof, 2-storeys. The former No.4 Howgate is excluded from the listing.

Description

Public house, converted in the 1980s from an earlier vernacular building (possibly a farmhouse originally) that was extended in the early-mid C19. Sandstone 'brick' construction with ashlar dressings and stone slate roof, 2-storeys

PLAN: the building has an early-mid C19 front range lying parallel to Albion Road with an earlier range attached to the rear left at a right angle. An additional 2-storey rendered building formerly known as no.4 Howgate attached to the rear right is not of special interest and is excluded from the listing.

EXTERIOR: the wide 2-bay C19 front range facing Albion Road has a dentilled eaves and quoining to the eastern end. It appears to have been constructed as a single build, even though the right (eastern) bay is slightly taller. 2-light mullioned windows containing horned sashes exist to each bay on each floor; that to the first-floor left rises through the eaves as a half-dormer. All the windows are set within ashlar surrounds, along with a doorway that lies immediately adjacent to the right bay's ground floor window. The timber door frame incorporates an overlight and the door is a late-C20 replacement. An additional doorway, which is believed to be a later insertion, exists to the far left of the ground floor. Two chimneystacks exist to each end of the ridge; that to the western end is much larger. Two single-light windows, which are similarly styled to those on the front elevation, light the east gable-end return, along with an additional window forming part of a later lean-to. Located to the rear left of the building is an earlier range set at a right angle to the front range. The rear range's north gable end is partly obscured by the later former no.4 Howgate, but substantial quoining is visible to its right (west) edge. The gable end has a 2-light mullioned window set to the first floor within an ashlar surround and containing later frames and glazing; the mullion is chamfered on the interior. A blocked-up doorway and window exist to the ground floor, with a further blocked-up window at attic level; all retain visible ashlar surrounds. The former no.4 Howgate, which is attached to the rear right of the building and now forms part of the pub's accommodation, has been heavily altered and is excluded from the listing.

INTERIOR: a small timber-boarded vestibule inside the pub's entrance leads through into an opened-up ground floor, which has two different floor levels; that to the western side is slightly higher and has a stone flag covering, whilst that to the eastern side has a later covering (it is unknown whether a corresponding stone-flag floor exists beneath). A large stone fireplace exists to the pub's west wall, along with a small square, brick and stone recess that possibly relates to the building's past use as a bakery. The southern section of the pub's east wall has a rebuilt stone chimneybreast with ashlar jambs to the fire opening and a large timber bressumer above. Occupying the centre of the ground-floor space is a large polygonal bar with a panelled counter, underneath which is a beer cellar with a C19 barrel ramp and built-in shelving; suggesting that the building has been in use as a pub previously. The part of the ground-floor formed by the rear range has a substantial chamfered beam running east-west with stops, along with a boxed-in beam and an additional beam with no visible stops. Some of the pub's walls are covered with timber-board panelling, including the left half of the rear wall, which conceals the blocked-up openings of the rear range's north gable end that are visible on the exterior. There is no stair in either the pub's front or rear ranges, and the stair is now located at the southern end of the attached former no.4 Howgate. The pub's upper floor rooms are plain and fireplaces have been removed. A later corridor inserted alongside the eastern wall incorporates later inserted openings and a corbelled arch towards the southern end; rooms lie off to the west side and southern end. Sections of two early tie beams are visible in the rear range, but no other timbers are visible. Access into the roof space was not possible. The former no.4 Howgate is excluded from the listing.

History

The Brewery Tap is believed to have developed from a probable C18 vernacular building (possibly a farmhouse) that was extended in the early-mid C19 with the addition of a front range facing Albion Road. The building was subsequently extended to the rear, subsuming a C19 building formerly known as 4 Howgate. It was converted into a public house in the 1980s, although it has been suggested that it had previously been a pub at some point during its history; the presence of a C19 beer-barrel ramp in the cellar supports this theory. The building has also been in use as a bakery and a cobblers.

Reasons for Listing

The Brewery Tap is listed at Grade II for the following principal reason:
* Architectural interest: it is an interesting example of a probable-C18 vernacular building, extended in the C19 and converted into a public house in the 1980s, that retains features representative of its varied phasing and changes in use

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26601115

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

Recommended Books

• 
  Period property manual, victorian house manual 2 books collection set by ian rock
• 
  Bristol (Pevsner Architectural Guides: City Guides)
• 
  County Durham (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England) by Elizabeth Williamson Nikolaus Pevsner(1983-03-11)
• 
  [(Bedfordshire, Huntingdon and Peterborough)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1968)
• 
  Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990
• 
  Warwickshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)