Anyone following the recent saga of the Catford Tavern, which was locally listed in a hurry when the owner put in a planning application to turn the building into flats and retail space, will appreciate how even successful, well-run pubs can be put at risk if the building owner decides it's time to cash in. At the cabinet meeting where this proposal was considered, councillor Liam Curran even suggested that the council should consider listing all its Victorian pubs en masse, following the lead of a group of students from Kingston University who are aiming to get Unesco World Heritage status for the London boozer as a 'type' of building worth preserving.
However welcome this move is in terms of raising the profile of some of our less obvious assets, it's worth remembering that local listing does not give the building any statutory protection against being demolished or altered. English Heritage, which has published a 'good practice' guide to local listing available to download here, explains: 'Heritage assets not designated under statutory regimes, but recognised by the local planning authority as having heritage significance do merit consideration in planning matters; with the LPA taking a balanced judgement having regard to the scale of any harm or loss and the significance of the heritage asset.'
As you were, then.
Here's the pubs that have been put forward for local listing, and the detailed explanations of why. Full details of all 26 buildings to be listed are available here.
Albertines
An attractive Victorian corner pub built as the ‘Clarendon Arms’ in 1857 on the site of
the former Bricklayers’ Arms of 1803/04. It was renamed the ‘Malt and Hops’ in 1992
before its current sign of ‘Albertines’. Albertines is in a similar heavy classical style
as the Five Bells on New Cross Road (Grade II statutory listed) but without the finer
architectural detailing.
Albertines is built of red brick with deep eaves with decorative corbels and a shallow
pitched roof. There is a full height bay to the Lewisham Way elevation and the
original timber sash windows to the upper floors remain, including large venetian
windows.
This building makes a positive contribution to the townscape and contributes towards
the setting of the nearby listed buildings, 160 -186 Lewisham Way and 239
Lewisham Way.
The Haberdashers
The Haberdashers is a classically inspired pub built as the Rosemary Branch around
1854. It is a three storey building built from yellow stock brick with stuccoed detailing.
Below the parapet is an ornate frieze and two channel jointed rendered pilasters with
an urn resting on a small corbel. The windows to the first floor are grandly expressed
with a solid cornice and corbel detail. The original windows to the upper floors
remain and the first floor has particularly decorative arched sashes.
This pub reflects the architectural style of the surrounding residential area but has
enhanced the classical styling to create a beautifully ornate building. The
Haberdashers is an attractive building whose architectural merit make this a locally
important building.
The Black Horse
An traditional three storey Victorian working pub from the 1870/80s. It is built in stock
brick with deep decorative eaves. The original bull nosed timber sash windows
remain to the upper floor but the first floor windows have been replaced.
This pub has an impressive green and beige tiled frontage which makes a historic
contribution to the local streetscape which has been largely redeveloped in the
twentieth century. This pub was originally a corner pub although since
redevelopment this is no longer the case. The fascia is also tiled with the signage
incorporated into the tiling and the original windows and large gas entrance lamp
remains. The dentiled course separates the tiled frontage from the upper floors.
The Cranbrook
The Cranbrook is an unusual and beautiful bullnosed building on the junction of
Brookmill Road and Cranbrook Road. It was built in 1854 as part of the creation of
Deptford New Town in the mid – late 19th century. It reflects the building style of the
surrounding terraces in the Brookmill conservation area which are simply designed
with classical influences and unified with a rendered parapet. The Cranbrook is three
storeys tall and looks over the surrounding streets as the most prominent building
within the conservation area. It is made from yellow stock brick with a stucco ground
floor with Palladium inspired channel jointing and decorated window apertures to the
upper floors. Like the surrounding terraces the pub also has a thick stucco parapet
that wraps around the building. The windows of the building to the upper floors are
evenly and generously distributed.
The Harp
Built in 1897, this is a large and attractive pub that sits facing down Deptford High St
from Evelyn Street. It is astride the two junctions with New King Street and
Watergate Street and has been designed to address these streets as well. It makes
a handsome contribution to the streetscape.
The pub is in an ornate classical style with Baroque influences and is rendered to the
upper floors with an unusual pink marble pub frontage. The roof is a dummy
mansard which falls to a simple pitched roof to the rear. There are two ornate
dormers to the roof with a circular window to one and a tablet of a harp to the other.
There is an ornate frieze that wraps around the building at eaves levels. The first
floor windows have decorative pediments and the proportions reveal a generously
proportions rooms internally. To the ground floor the two original entrances have
been converted into windows but the pediments above the fascias revealing the
original locations. All the original timber windows remain to the upper floors.
The White Swan
An imposing corner property situated on Deptford High Street on the corner with
Edward Street. This was built as a pub and also a hotel in the early 1800s. It is stock
brick with classical detailing and retains the original pub frontage. There is a grand
separate entrance to the hotel on the Edward Street elevation and the pilasters,
fascia and decorative entrances of the pub frontage are all still intact. The pediment
detail to the first floor windows has been removed. The most impressive element of
this building, which can be seen along the street, is the deep parapet which
incorporates the signage ‘Swan’, ‘Hotel’ and ‘The White Swan’ and classical arched
detailing. At the corner rising above the parapet is a swan figurine sitting within a
stuccoed recessed background with a finial above.
