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Campaign for Real Ale Pub Heritage
Historic Pub Interiors

Introduction to Local Inventories

Synopsis To encourage Branches to develop local inventories of pub interiors that retain elements of historic interest.

Background Pub Heritage Group (PHG) has restructured its lists (‘inventories’) of historically-important pub interiors. These were the National Inventory (NI), listing the 280 or so very best surviving interiors, and the Regional Inventories (RI), which also include the next tier in terms of heritage importance. We also recognised a cohort of interiors that are of Some Regional Importance (SRI) where more changes will have taken place. Finally, there are interiors where the level of change has been even greater but some of the original layout or historic features survive; this makes them of Local Interest (LI). We have previously tried to encourage the development of Local Inventories to acknowledge and publicise them.

The new structure comprises a single National Inventory with a star-rating ranking system. Three star (3*) is broadly equivalent to the old NI though the selection criteria are different. Two star (2*) is mostly made up of former RI pubs. One star (1*) covers the rest of the former RI pubs plus the best of the SRI interiors.

Local Inventories A consequence of these changes is that some former SRI pubs have dropped off the national listings. All these interiors will be of some heritage interest, perhaps because aspects of the historic layout are easily discernible or they retain some genuinely old fixtures and fittings. We will maintain our own internal record of these interiors but would like to see them given more prominence. One way to do this would be for them to form the first building blocks of local inventories to which other interiors of local interest can be added. In many cases, we’re talking of fragments – perhaps old stained glass, an attractive old bar-back, or small areas of original tiling.

Such Local Inventories are driven and controlled by Branches and the inclusion criteria is up to them. For example: a Branch could include pubs where the interior no longer has any historic features but the exterior is either (i) of high quality or (ii) has specific features of particular interest.

PHG will be pleased to offer advice and guidance to any Branch (or Branches working together) who are interested in developing a Local Inventory. For starters, we can provide details of any ‘dropped off’ SRI pubs in the area; over time, we’ve also developed lists of interiors that we consider to be LI candidates and, again, we can share these.

The Sheffield Experience Some Branches have already made headway on LI consideration but Sheffield have taken this furthest. They have carried out a comprehensive survey of Sheffield pubs and identified over thirty as worthy of recognition, in addition to the interiors that already have 3*, 2* or 1* status. In addition, over twenty pubs have been noted for their exterior. This has enabled them to produce a guide, ‘Sheffield’s Real Heritage Pubs,’ in similar format to PHG’s regional guides.

The first edition (2017) was download only but there have subsequently been three printed versions. The most recent was launched at the 2023 Members Weekend. The first two editions sold out and made four-figure surpluses for the campaign. You can find the latest edition at sheffield.camra.org.uk/rhp

The Editor, Dave Pickersgill, has also produced detailed guidance on how to compile a similar guide: this is available to download.

Next Steps Our first request is for Branches to consider, whether they have an interest in developing a LI. As Sheffield has shown, larger cities have the most obvious scope for developing a Local Inventory. PHG will be contacting Branches where we feel there are enough pubs eligible for inclusion in an LI. In other areas, the number of eligible pubs may be small or even non-existent (my own Barnsley Branch being a case in point) – in which case, neighbouring Branches might consider banding together to produce an area or county list.

If you are interested, then please let me know and I’ll provide what information I can, including details of any LI candidates that PHG is aware of. We can also talk you through the practicalities of putting a list together and provide further guidance on selections, descriptions and so on.

Contact: If you have any questions or comments about this initiative, please contact: paul.ainsworth@camra.org.uk 01226 217195