The Bartons Arms Pub

built in 1901 by architects james and lister lea this wonderful pub is grade 2 listed and is situated on the high st newtown..most famous for its wall to wall minton tiles and the snob screens that allowed middle class drinkers to see the working class drinkers in an adjacent bar but not to be seen by them...story goes that they came in very handy for gaffers of firms to spot their workers drinking in there when they should have been at work..lol...laurel and hardy used this pub when appearing at the adjacent aston hippodrome which unfortunately was demolished in the late 60s early 70s...my dad was in there in the 50s and in walked laurel and hardy so dad politely asked oliver hardy for his autograph where upon mr hardy told our dad to go and do one...charming...anyhow that aside here are a few pics i took last year..oh i nearly forgot that one of the pics will show the staircase well just at the foot of that while some renovations were being carried out a few years back the old carpets had to be lifted and lo and behold a whole load of minton tiles were discovered...they are now protected under the new floor covering and i was told that at some point the plan is to let the tiles be seen for a short time...

first the bar and snob screens

lyn