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30-05-2022, 05:53
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In Portsmouth, the Victorian and Edwardian pubs built by two competing breweries offer an interesting way of understanding and navigating the city.
We were tipped off to this by an architectural guide by Alan Balfour published in 1970.
In his three-page introduction, Mr Balfour dedicates a good chunk of text to pubs:
Later 19th century pubs, such as The Northcote Hotel and The Eastfield Hotel, are almost over-pretentious in contrast to their surroundings. This pretentiousness goes deeper than the street elevations – it confirms the separate identities of the two major brewers in the area at the end of the 19th century, Brickwoods and Portsmouth United Ales… The brewers’ house styles emerged towards the end of the century, United pubs being clad in a deep green tile on the ground floor, with arched openings, and light green glazed bricks above… Brickwoods developed an extravagant ‘Tudorbethan’ style, with endless variations in the pseudo-timber framing and decoration.
https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/portsmouth_united_breweries_sign.jpg?resize=580%2C 812&ssl=1An Edwardian logo for Portsmouth United Breweries from the former Egremont Arms.https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/brickwood_sign_portsmouth.jpg?resize=580%2C414&ssl =1A Brickwood & Co Ltd sign on the former White Swan, now a branch of Brewhouse & Kitchen.On our first wander through town, we spotted examples of both. Some were trading, others were derelict, and still others had become nurseries or shops.
https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/the_festing_portsmouth.jpg?resize=580%2C414&ssl=1T he Festing, a typical Brickwoods pub unfortunately afflicted by the grey plague.https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/leopold_portsmouth.jpg?resize=580%2C414&ssl=1A typical Portsmouth United Breweries pub with, we think, a 1920s makeover, based on the addition of ‘Brighton’ to the brewery name.https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/mars_portsmouth.jpg?resize=580%2C414&ssl=1The Mars, still trading, with shimmering red-pink mosaic on the signs.https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/egremont_arms.jpg?resize=580%2C414&ssl=1Round the corner from The Star, The Egremont Arms, now a nursery.https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/seagull_portsmouth_tower.jpg?resize=580%2C812&ssl= 1The Seagull, a very ostentatious Brickwoods pub, now an estate agent.https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/the_seagull_portsmouth.jpg?resize=580%2C812&ssl=1A nother shimmering mosaic sign.Where other breweries did have pubs in the city, we suppose they were obliged to try to keep up with the style and dazzle of Brickwoods and United.
https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/longs_ales_stout_portsmouth.jpg?resize=580%2C812&s sl=1The dormer Duches of Fife, a Long’s pub on Castle Street.https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/eldon_arms_portsmouth.jpg?resize=580%2C414&ssl=1Th e Eldon Arms, still trading, advertising Dorchester Crystal Ales.As students of the post-war pub, we kept our eyes peeled for examples. Sadly, or not, depending on your point of view, much of post-war Portsmouth has been torn down. When The Tricorn shopping centre went, two pubs went with it – good ones, too, according to Alan Balfour:
Owen Luder set a new standard in the Tricorn with The New Bell and The Casbah. They have been altered lately, but The New Bell is especially exciting, with its bright tiles, exposed concrete columns, a variety of spaces and complex manipulation of plan and section.
We did pause to admire The Raven, though, in all its flat-roofed glory.
https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/the_raven_portsmouth.jpg?resize=580%2C414&ssl=1We actually only drank in one the pubs pictured above, though, which is odd. We had a hit list of pubs which we were told had decent or interesting beer and none of those were particularly interesting to look at. More on that in another post later this week.
Evidence of Brickwoods vs. United in Portsmouth (https://boakandbailey.com/2022/05/evidence-of-brickwoods-vs-united-in-portsmouth/) originally posted at Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog (https://boakandbailey.com)
More... (https://boakandbailey.com/2022/05/evidence-of-brickwoods-vs-united-in-portsmouth/)
In Portsmouth, the Victorian and Edwardian pubs built by two competing breweries offer an interesting way of understanding and navigating the city.
We were tipped off to this by an architectural guide by Alan Balfour published in 1970.
In his three-page introduction, Mr Balfour dedicates a good chunk of text to pubs:
Later 19th century pubs, such as The Northcote Hotel and The Eastfield Hotel, are almost over-pretentious in contrast to their surroundings. This pretentiousness goes deeper than the street elevations – it confirms the separate identities of the two major brewers in the area at the end of the 19th century, Brickwoods and Portsmouth United Ales… The brewers’ house styles emerged towards the end of the century, United pubs being clad in a deep green tile on the ground floor, with arched openings, and light green glazed bricks above… Brickwoods developed an extravagant ‘Tudorbethan’ style, with endless variations in the pseudo-timber framing and decoration.
https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/portsmouth_united_breweries_sign.jpg?resize=580%2C 812&ssl=1An Edwardian logo for Portsmouth United Breweries from the former Egremont Arms.https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/brickwood_sign_portsmouth.jpg?resize=580%2C414&ssl =1A Brickwood & Co Ltd sign on the former White Swan, now a branch of Brewhouse & Kitchen.On our first wander through town, we spotted examples of both. Some were trading, others were derelict, and still others had become nurseries or shops.
https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/the_festing_portsmouth.jpg?resize=580%2C414&ssl=1T he Festing, a typical Brickwoods pub unfortunately afflicted by the grey plague.https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/leopold_portsmouth.jpg?resize=580%2C414&ssl=1A typical Portsmouth United Breweries pub with, we think, a 1920s makeover, based on the addition of ‘Brighton’ to the brewery name.https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/mars_portsmouth.jpg?resize=580%2C414&ssl=1The Mars, still trading, with shimmering red-pink mosaic on the signs.https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/egremont_arms.jpg?resize=580%2C414&ssl=1Round the corner from The Star, The Egremont Arms, now a nursery.https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/seagull_portsmouth_tower.jpg?resize=580%2C812&ssl= 1The Seagull, a very ostentatious Brickwoods pub, now an estate agent.https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/the_seagull_portsmouth.jpg?resize=580%2C812&ssl=1A nother shimmering mosaic sign.Where other breweries did have pubs in the city, we suppose they were obliged to try to keep up with the style and dazzle of Brickwoods and United.
https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/longs_ales_stout_portsmouth.jpg?resize=580%2C812&s sl=1The dormer Duches of Fife, a Long’s pub on Castle Street.https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/eldon_arms_portsmouth.jpg?resize=580%2C414&ssl=1Th e Eldon Arms, still trading, advertising Dorchester Crystal Ales.As students of the post-war pub, we kept our eyes peeled for examples. Sadly, or not, depending on your point of view, much of post-war Portsmouth has been torn down. When The Tricorn shopping centre went, two pubs went with it – good ones, too, according to Alan Balfour:
Owen Luder set a new standard in the Tricorn with The New Bell and The Casbah. They have been altered lately, but The New Bell is especially exciting, with its bright tiles, exposed concrete columns, a variety of spaces and complex manipulation of plan and section.
We did pause to admire The Raven, though, in all its flat-roofed glory.
https://i0.wp.com/boakandbailey.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/the_raven_portsmouth.jpg?resize=580%2C414&ssl=1We actually only drank in one the pubs pictured above, though, which is odd. We had a hit list of pubs which we were told had decent or interesting beer and none of those were particularly interesting to look at. More on that in another post later this week.
Evidence of Brickwoods vs. United in Portsmouth (https://boakandbailey.com/2022/05/evidence-of-brickwoods-vs-united-in-portsmouth/) originally posted at Boak & Bailey's Beer Blog (https://boakandbailey.com)
More... (https://boakandbailey.com/2022/05/evidence-of-brickwoods-vs-united-in-portsmouth/)