The Barton's Arms - Victorian splendour on a grandiose scale

My visit the other Friday to the Barton’s Arms at Aston, was in many ways the highlight of the trip I made to Birmingham. That is not to detract from the many other positives of the day, including decent beer, some fine pubs plus equally fine company. Setting foot inside this high temple to late Victorian pub design, was something really special, and an experience that will stay in my mind for a long time, but – spoiler alert, it was NOT my first visit to the Barton’s Arms.

My initial visit took place, sometime in the mid-1980s, but if I'm honest I can't remember exactly when it occurred during that period, or why |I was in Birmingham in the first place. I believe I there on business, and it would have been the time when I worked in the water treatment industry. The trouble is I never used to write things down, and with no Internet, no blog, and no social media, during the mid 80’s. there was really no need to report on such matters. What I do remember is the long walk out from central Birmingham to the Aston district of the city, where the pub is located. It seemed rather desolate at the time because a lot of urban clearance had taken place, and this reminded me of similar clearance work I had witnessed a decade or so earlier, in the Greater Manchester area.

The Barton’s Arms dates from 1901 and was built for Mitchells and Butler who, even back then, were one of Birmingham’s premier breweries. The pub is built of stone and red brick in a style that is said to be inspired by the nearby Aston Hall and was regarded as the flagship pub of the Mitchell and Butlers brewery estate. The imposing exterior includes shaped gables and a tall clock tower, with the building occupying a site at the junction of two roads. It is one of the most spectacular survivors from the late Victorian era in the country, with one of the most beautiful pub interiors to match.

The inside is blessed with numerous original features, including rich mahogany woodworking’s, stained and engraved windows and mirrors, snob-screens, a sweeping wrought-iron staircase and what the pub is best known for, its wall-to-wall tiles, from shiny-glazed decorative patterns to huge painted scenes. Because of these features, the Barton’s was granted a Grade 2* listed heritage building status in 1976, one of the few pubs in the country to be so highly rate. This move helped preserve the pub for the nation, but it wasn’t quite out of the woods, as subsequent events were to prove.

I’m fairly certain the Barton’s would have served Draught Bass at the time of my first visit, as by then Mitchells and Butlers had become part of the Bass empire, a company that, at the time, were Britain’s largest brewing company.  Dark clouds were gathering on the horizon, thanks in no small measure to fallout from the government's misguided attempt at reforming the brewing industry. The move, which was designed to increase competition within the trade, by breaking up the vast tied estates owned by companies such as Bass, led to the latter moving out of brewing altogether.

Their former tied estate fell into the hands one of the various pub owning companies (Pubcos) that sprang up to take the place of the big brewers, but unfortunately, the Pubcos proved even worse than the big brewers, especially when it came to looking after the pubs they owned. Somewhere along the line the Barton’s Arms fell into neglect and was even closed for a time. Its fate seemed uncertain, as it stood like an island of Victoriana in a sea of modern development. There must have been a real concern that this treasured gem of a pub, could be pulled down and lost forever.

Fortunately, a knight in shining armour, in the guise of Oakham Ales of Peterborough, who came along, purchased the property, and spent a considerable sum of money restoring it to its former glory. The pub reopened in 2003, following three years of closure, and 20 years later, us five intrepid pub explorers walked in through its grandiose entrance, and experienced this fully restored, late 19^th Century masterpiece in all its glory.

The walk out to Aston had seemed very different from the one I undertook nearly 30 years ago. The new buildings, whether they were high rise flats, or more modest dwellings; the new shops and other businesses, including industrial units, had all had several decades to mature and blend in with their surroundings. I can't pretend they were all attractive, but with plenty of tree planting and other greening activity having taken place, the area had a lived-in feel to it, even though the fast-moving, A34 dual carriage way road at its midst, rather spoiled the effect.

Most of us paused outside to take photos of the impressive exterior, before diving inside. We made ourselves at home in one of the rooms at the front of the pub, but before sitting down I took the opportunity of a visit to the Gents, to photograph as much of the interior as I could. There were plenty of delights to occupy my camera’s lens, and with its multiple rooms, mahogany woodwork, stained and engraved windows, mirrors, snob-screens, and its ornate wrought-iron staircase, I was spoiled for choice, but judge for yourselves whether or not I succeeded in capturing the essence of this magnificent pub.

There were just two cask beers on sale at the Barton’s - Oakham Citra and Titanic Plum Porter, and I enjoyed a half of each. Thai cuisine is the pub’s main food offering, and an extensive menu prepared by real Thai chefs, is available to satisfy the hungriest of customers. Despite the appeal of the food, I didn’t fancy a whole curry. Rice is not particularly conducive when it comes to drinking large volumes of beer, due to their combined bloating effect, so I opted instead for a chicken satay wrap, served up with a portion of fries. This was just the right amount to soak up the beer, without filling me up, too much.

During our time at the pub, our observations turned into a discussion on whether a pub such as the Barton’s has much of a future, in such a culturally diverse neighbourhood. There seemed to be plenty of customers but given the size of the building their numbers weren’t really making much of a dent on the amount of available space. Food for thought, perhaps, and a discussion for another time, but if you haven’t been to the Barton’s, then you really should make the effort, as historic pubs of this scale and grandeur, really are few and far between. 

Footnote: There are two other reports on the Barton's, written by Prop up the Bar, Nick, and Retired Martin, both of whom accompanied me on my recent visit. They offer their own, slightly different perspectives on the pub, so click on the adjacent links. Life After Football might also add his own take, later on.

 

Outposts, rarities plus the occasional, unexpected delight

Back in the early days of CAMRA ale lovers often knew exactly where they were in the country, just from a quick glance at the name of the owning brewery on the signs, or on the side of the pub, was sufficient to inform drinkers, what they might expect. Back then, the majority of the surviving local independent breweries, had a clearly defined and often quite rigid trading area. So, for example, if you were in the West Sussex town of Horsham, or thereabouts, it would be no surprise to see the name King & Barnes featuring on many of the local pubs. Similarly, if you were in Dorset, and close to the county town of Dorchester, local brewers, Eldridge Pope, would be most prominent name appearing on local pubs.

There were numerous other examples, some perhaps covering a wider area, due to the brewery in question, being a larger concern. Examples such as Brain’s of Cardiff, Robinson’s of Stockport and Thwaites of Blackburn, spring to mind. The thing was, drinkers and beer connoisseurs, knew what to expect, and fully expected the necessity of travelling to different areas, and sometimes even just different towns, in order to track down and ample the wares of a particular brewer.

This was one of the joys of being a beer lover during the late 1970’s to early 80’s, and also part of the fun. Things started to change with the advent of beer agencies, who sourced and then offered cask ales drawn from a much wider area of the country. Later on, the gradual appearance of a growing number of new, start-up, independent small brewers, added another complication to the mix, even if it did improve the choice available to the drinker.

For the purpose of this article, I want to go back to those early, pre-internet, and pre-Smartphone, days when, printed guides, maps, and good old-fashioned paper and pen were essential tools for those in search of a good, or indeed unfamiliar beer. CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide proved indispensable in this respect, as did a pioneering book published in 1973, called “The Beer Drinker’s Companion.”  Assiduously written and researched by Frank Baillie – a beer connoisseur if ever there was one, the book listed each one of the draught (cask), keg and bottled beers produced by the individual breweries.

Frank also told drinkers where they could find pubs belonging these breweries.  A statement, such as," within a 30-mile radius of Little Topping," might suffice, but often he would add a statement saying where “outposts” of the brewery, might be found outside of that radius. For example, the late, lamented Horsham brewers, King & Barnes owned 58 pubs, that were easy to find in Horsham and the surrounding villages. Further out, a little more detective work was needed. Outposts were listed in towns such as Reigate, and villages such as Blackbrook near Dorking, and Eridge, near Tunbridge Wells.

The Huntsman still provides refreshment to rail travellers, arriving at Eridge station, although today the pub is owned by Dorset brewers, Hall & Woodhouse aka Badger Ales. It now represents something of lone outpost for the Blandford Forum based company. When I moved to west Kent, King & Barnes actually owned a pub in the county, namely the Hopbine, at Petteridge, near Paddock Wood. Today, the pub is a free house, but back in the day, landlord Mike Winser, served a very good pint of K&B Sussex Bitter, alongside a selection of the brewery’s seasonal beers.

The Huntsman isn’t the only anomaly in the west Kent area, as the village of Riverhead, which today is a district of Sevenoaks, is where Hertford brewers, McMullen & Sons Ltd, have a lone outpost to the south of the River Thames, in the form of the Bullfinch. This attractive looking pub is just a stone’s throw from the massive Tesco superstore, just off the London Road, but strangely enough the presence of this Mac’s pub, is rarely acknowledged by the local CAMRA branch.

This might have something to do with the branch’s late chairman, Scottish Iain, a man who, shall we say, wasn’t over enamoured with McMullen’s beers. We suspect this antipathy dated back to when Iain lived in Hertfordshire, but strangely enough he wasn’t the only person I’ve known who wasn’t keen on the company’s beers. I, on the other hand, don’t mind Mac’s beers, although I don’t pretend to be a massive fan. Back in my student days, a friend and I cycled from Barking to Waltham Abbey, a distance of around 16 miles - although it seemed much longer at the time, in order to sample McMullen’s for the first time. 

Mac’s had a pub in the town, and this represented their nearest tied house to Barking, where my university friend lived with his father during the summer vacation. Checking back in the 1974 Good Beer Guide – the only guide available to point us towards the nearest McMullen’s outlet, the pub in question was the Angel, in Sun Street. Furthermore, according to What Pub, the Angel is still a McMullen’s pub, nearly half a century later. So, what exactly is Kent’s lone McMullen’s outlet like? 

Surprisingly spacious, is the answer, and judging by the number of vehicles in the car park, popular too. It also offers a warm welcome as I discovered the other Saturday, when I left Mrs PBT’s to do the shopping, and called in at the Bullfinch for a flat white, plus a quick look around. The coffee was needed as the visit was the day after the previous day’s Birmingham pub walkabout!

It was quite a few years since I’d last set foot in the pub, and that occasion had been for a poorly attended, CAMRA social.  Public transport to Riverhead is non-existent in the evening, and the few of us who did turn up, faced a 30-minute walk from Sevenoaks station. This time around, the Bullfinch appeared far more spacious, and despite the diners, plus the odd casual drinker, there were plenty of spare chairs and tables. McMullen’s IPA and Country Best Bitter were the cask ales available, along with a beer called Harlequin, from the company’s Rivertown Brewing subsidiary. 

I had a brief chat with the landlord, whilst waiting for my flat white to be poured. The discussion centred on the pub’s Gavin & Stacey themed, quiz evening. Mrs PBT’s is a big fan of this sit-com; I’m rather less keen, but it seemed a good reason to tempt her out for a drink. If not, the Bullfinch looks a reasonable bet for a meal, with a varied and interesting food offering to go with the McMullen’s beer. 

I’d be interested to learn of other “outpost” pubs, that people know of, because even in these times of mega-choice, it’s good to hear of the odd “lone wolf”, flying the flag for a family-owned, independent brewer.