Coach & Horses public house, 350 Eccles New Road, Salford, Weaste and Seedley, Salford

Summary

Public house, 1913. A rare example of a virtually intact Edwardian suburban pub building.

Description

MATERIALS: Red brick with stone dressings, tiled roof mainly hidden from view.

PLAN: Reverse L-shaped building with principal elevations on to Eccles New Road to the south-west and a car park to the south-east side. Internally there is an L-shaped corridor/drinking lobby running from the front entrance to the south-east side entrance. Off the front entrance vestibule is the Vault, whilst off the south-east entrance vestibule is the Outdoor (Off-Sales) Department. Set to the front left of the ground floor is the Lounge and to the rear right is the Smoke Room. A stair to the rear left of the drinking lobby accesses the first floor.

EXTERIOR: Front (south-west) elevation: The front elevation is of three bays and is set upon a stone plinth. To the centre of the ground floor is a doorway with a stone surround incorporating flanking columns set upon carved bases and a segmented pediment supported by paired, carved consoles with a recessed tympanum containing carved decoration. The doorway contains a six-panel door with raised pyramidal lower panels and a stained glass overlight above. The two outer bays have large, recessed canted bay windows set within flush surrounds incorporating segmental-arched stone heads with carved consoles acting as keystones and a decorative bay-leaf band to the lower part. The windows appear to be of painted cast-iron and have slender mullions with decorative capitals, dentil bands, and stained-glass upper panels incorporating Art Nouveau-style designs. The lower panels are much larger and incorporate later, decorative frosted glass. Two slender stringcourses run into the window heads in the style of continuous hoodmoulds and carry around to the south-east elevation. The first floor has three windows with replaced glazing; those to the outer bays are larger. Each window has a stone head composed of voussoirs with a decorative, carved keystone and set between two stringcourses. The roof is hidden from view by a parapet topped by a dentil cornice.

North-west elevation: This elevation is blank with no door or window openings and has near full-height brick buttresses. Modern, gold lettering signage reading 'COACH & HORSES' exists to the far right of the elevation.

South-east elevation: This elevation originally faced on to a short street lined with terraced houses known as Robinsons Buildings, but now faces a car park serving the pub. The elevation is similarly styled to the front elevation and is also of three bays with an additional, flat-roofed bay (containing the Smoke Room and toilets) to the ground floor, which projects beyond the rear wall. The main entrance is set to bay 3 and is identically styled to that to the front elevation, as are the three windows to the remaining ground floor bays. The window to bay 2, lighting the Outdoor Department, is slightly narrower. The first-floor window surrounds are also identically styled to those to the front and the windows retain their original glazing, which incorporate slender mullions and stained-glass upper lights. Two later top-hung casement openings have been inserted into the two windows to the right of the first floor. Rising from the centre of the elevation behind the roof parapet is a tall, shaped, brick stack with stone dressings.

INTERIOR: Internally original moulded cornicing, architraves and partly-glazed doors can be found throughout to all the rooms. There are two entrance vestibules, each with black and white mosaic floors with a Greek key border and incorporating 'COACH AND HORSES' to the centre. The vestibule walls have a green, glazed-tile dado incorporating egg-and-dart bands and a border of yellow tulips. Inner double doors with plain overlights above have brass door protectors, pyramidal raised lower panels and tall, etched and frosted upper panels incorporating 'COACH &' to the left door and 'HORSES' to the right door. The glazed tile dado found in the entrance vestibules is carried through into the drinking lobby and also continues up the main stair to the first-floor private quarters. The L-shaped drinking lobby has a star-patterned, black and white tiled floor and widens out at the rear of the ground floor where it accesses toilets and the Smoke Room. To the centre of the drinking lobby is the bar servery, which is composed of an L-shaped section facing into the lobby with a curved north corner, a further section facing into the Outdoor Department and another section facing into the Vault (public bar). The servery consists of a panelled counter with a console-supported top and a timber and glass screen above with upper sashes containing Art-Nouveau-style stained glass. The lower sashes have been removed, except for in the Outdoor Department where they incorporate etched and frosted glass decoration. A staff doorway exists to the north-west side of the bar servery facing the drinking lobby. The Lounge is set to the front left, west corner, of the ground floor and retains its original fixed-bench seating with bell pushes, and a picture rail with Anoglypta frieze above. The fireplace has been replaced. The room is believed to have originally had a double doorway, which has since been converted into a single doorway with a modern screen and frosted glass panel inserted to the north-eastern side. The doors have been removed. The Smoke Room is set to the rear right, east corner, of the ground floor and is accessed off the drinking lobby through an angled doorway with an overlight incorporating Art Nouveau-style stained glass. The panelled door has brass door protectors and an etched and frosted upper panel with 'SMOKE ROOM' highlighted in gold. The room has dado and picture rails but has lost its original seating. Off to the left of the south-east entrance vestibule is a panelled door with brass door protectors, a large etched and frosted upper panel incorporating 'OUTDOOR DEPMNT', and a plain overlight above. The Outdoor Department (Off-Sales) is a small, narrow room with the same tiled floor as can be found in the drinking lobby, and a fixed timber bench with an angled back-rest set underneath the south-east window. The bar servery is as described above and lies to the north-west side of the room with a further shelf to the south-west wall. Off to the right of the south-west entrance vestibule is a panelled door with brass door protectors, a large etched and frosted upper panel incorporating 'VAULT' highlighted in gold, and an overlight incorporating Art Nouveau-style stained glass above. The Vault is located to the south corner of the ground floor and has a geometric-patterned, black, white and red tiled floor and retains its original fixed-bench seating and baffles. The bar servery is as described above and lies to the north-east side. A fireplace that originally occupied the north-east corner has been removed and replaced by panelling. The main stair is set to the rear left of the drinking lobby and has a bracketed string, turned balusters, and shaped newel posts. A doorway to the left of the bottom of the stair has an etched and frosted upper panel reading 'PRIVATE' and leads into the rear left, north corner, part of the ground floor. The basement stair is accessed underneath the main stair. A modern fire exit has been inserted on the stair's half-landing level and the first-floor landing has been boxed-in. The rest of the first floor was not inspected.

History

The Coach & Horses public house was constructed in 1913 for the Rochdale & Manor Brewery; its architect is unknown. Originally the pub was surrounded by terraced housing and occupied a corner position at the junction of Eccles New Road and a small street known as Robinson's Buildings. Virtually all of the terraced housing and their associated streets, including Robinson's Buildings, have since been demolished. The site of Robinson's Buildings is now occupied by a car park serving the pub and also by St Luke's School and its grounds behind. The Coach & Horses public house was bought by the Samuel Smiths brewery in 1947.

Reasons for Listing

The Coach & Horses public house is designated at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Architectural quality: It has an elegant exterior incorporating a high level of architectural detailing through its use of carved stone dressings, good quality brickwork and windows with decorative cast-ironwork
* Rarity: It is a rare survival of a medium-sized, Edwardian suburban public house that remains virtually unaltered both externally and internally
* Interior quality and survival: The interior retains its original, and increasingly rare, compartmentalised internal arrangements and good quality fixtures and fittings throughout, including extensive tilework, panelled bar servery with a screen incorporating upper sashes with Art Nouveau-style stained glass, fixed-bench seating, doors with etched and frosted glass panels and brass protectors, bell pushes in the lounge for table service, and an intact Outdoor Department

External Links

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