The Bartons Arms | |
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General information | |
Type | Public house |
Location | High Street, Aston, Birmingham, England |
Coordinates | 52°29′57″N1°53′43″W / 52.4992°N 1.8953°W |
Completed | 1901 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | James and Lister Lea |
Awards and prizes | Grade II* listed |
Website | |
thebartonsarms |
The Bartons Arms (grid reference SP072890 ) is a public house in the High Street (part of the A34) in the Newtown area of Aston, Birmingham, England. [1]
Built in 1900-1901 by noted pub architects partnership James and Lister Lea for Mitchells & Butlers, it is a grade II* listed building, and is on the Campaign for Real Ale's National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors. [2]
It closed at the end of January 2024, due to rising costs.
The pub was known for its wall-to-wall Minton-Hollins tiles and its snob screens, which allowed middle class drinkers to see working class drinkers in an adjacent bar, but not to be seen by them. [2] The current public bar was originally divided into three. [2] There are function rooms upstairs, originally for billiards and club use. [2]
It was purchased in 2002 by Oakham Ales who restored the building to its former condition before reopening it in 2003, after three years out-of-use. [2] As well as serving Oakham ales it is also served Thai food. On 28 July 2006, the pub was damaged by fire, reportedly caused by an electrical fault. [3] The pub still boasts Dutch gables, Victorian lanterns and central clock tower. [4]
During the 2011 England riots, the pub was looted, windows were smashed, and fires started, albeit quickly doused by the manager, Wichai Thumjaron. [5] Up to eight shots from a 19th Century St Etienne revolver were fired at police who attended the incident. [6] [7] Five men and a teenager were jailed following a police investigation. [8]
On 31 January 2024, with no prior notice, the pub closed, with the leaseholder saying that rising costs made it operation unviable. [9]
The Barton's Arms is located in High Street, Aston, Birmingham B6 4UP; at the crossroads of Newtown High Street and Park Lane. [10]
The pub is a key feature on the route map for the Birmingham International Marathon. [11]
Laurel and Hardy stayed at The Barton Arms in May 1954, while appearing at the adjacent Aston Hippodrome (now demolished, replaced by The Drum Arts Centre), and were photographed serving beer from behind the bar. [12] [13]
Entertainers Marie Lloyd, Enrico Caruso and Charlie Chaplin were also documented to have visited the establishment when performing at the Aston Hippodrome. [10]
Musician Ozzy Osbourne, who grew up in Aston, is also a former patron of the pub. [14]
The pub features in the 1999 Atom Egoyan Birmingham-set film Felicia's Journey . [15] It also features in the 2006 novel by Ron Dawson, The Last Viking: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Heist; as the gang of robbers meet in the pub.
In October 1974 the local TV company, ATV Today, did a feature with presenter Bob Warman on the Bartons Arms and the film of that is held for posterity by the BFI. [16]
In July 2015, The Guardian described The Barton Arms as a "Victorian temple in carved wood, gleaming tile work, stained glass and wrought iron" in a list of Birmingham's Top 10 craft beer pubs. [17]
In January 2015, the Birmingham Mail praised the pub's in-house traditional Thai restaurant in a feature highlighting '17 of the best comfort foods in Birmingham'. [18]
In April 2016, in an interview with The Guardian, screenwriter and film director Steven Knight described the venue as a "Peaky Blinders-era pub" and recommended it as a place to visit. [19]
In October 2018, The Barton Arms was named as one of The Guardian newspaper's top 50 pubs in the UK. [20] [21] In 2019, it was included in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2019. [22]
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, England, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. With just under 150,000 members, it is the largest single-issue consumer group in the UK, and is a founding member of the European Beer Consumers Union (EBCU).
A pub is a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in the late 17th century, to differentiate private houses from those open to the public as alehouses, taverns and inns. Today, there is no strict definition, but CAMRA states a pub has four characteristics:
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The National Pub of the Year is an annual competition held by CAMRA, the winner of which is announced in the February of the year following that in which the competition is run, that finds the best pub in the UK. Established in 1988, the competition helps to highlight quality pubs around the UK that are worth seeking out and visiting. Each year, each local CAMRA branch nominates one pub in their area to be entered. These 200 pubs then go through to the regional competition, which then whittles down to 4 pubs to go to the national final.
Oakham Ales is an English brewery now based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, but first established in 1993 in Oakham, Rutland. The original owner, John Wood, left Oakham Ales in 1995.
James & Lister Lea was an architectural and property consultancy firm active in England between 1846 and 2001.
The National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors was a register of public houses in the United Kingdom with interiors which had been noted as being of significant historic interest, having remained largely unchanged for at least 30 years, but usually since at least World War II.
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A snob screen is a device found in some British public houses of the Victorian era. Usually installed in sets, they comprise an etched glass pane in a movable wooden frame and were intended to allow middle class drinkers to see working class drinkers in an adjacent bar, but not to be seen by them, and to be undisturbed by the bar staff.
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