Greystones PH
Location/Address
Greystones Road, S11 7BS
Type
Description
Built in 1939 as the Highcliffe Hotel, this is an imposing red brick and stone structure with a mock-Tudor upper storey (now painted grey). The entrance lobby has fine orangey-red tiling, with a row of black ties top and bottom, to dado height along with the original doors which have patterned leaded windows. The interior is opened out though the former five room layout is easy to discern. The pub was originally built with a bowling green (now a grassy area but not part of the pub). The Highcliffe Hotel Bowls Club still exists, currently playing at Whiteley Wood Bowling Club.
The slightly-raised lounge on the left retains its panelling albeit painted over and the fireplace, although Some more painted-over panelling survives in the middle area whilst the further fragments in the right-hand area have happily avoided the paintbrush. This is also the case in the back lobby where the excellent panelling is three-quarters height and there is more of the attractive tiling near the external door (now an emergency exit only).
There are original doors to the (modernised) toilets plus an attractive signpost to the Gents' stencilled into the panelling. All other features, including the bar counter and bar back, are quite recent (1985) while the rear room contains no historic features. The right-hand room also has a fitted diamond-shape mirror and a wooden divider, with leaded glass window.
The original 1939 plans (Wynyard Dixon for Messes Tennant Brothers Ltd.) show a large Lounge at the rear of the building. From the main entrance, there is a Best Room on the left, a corridor area (leading to the lounge) served by a central bar and a Parlour on the right corner. A second entrance on the right of the building leads to a Jug & Bottle with a further entrance leading, via a Porch to the Public Bar.
1954 saw proposals for the removal of the Off Sales, an extension of the servery allowing counter service to the front right newly-named Cocktails room (M.W.Ofield, Architect and Surveyor, Exchange Brewery, Sheffield). However, these plans did not reach fulfilment, 1983 plans continuing to show the existence of the Off Sales. The Lounge continues to be named as such, although, by this point, it had hosted well-regarded gigs and concerts for a number of years.
1985 saw the loss of the off sales, an opening-out of the right-hand rooms and a reconfiguration of the servery into its current position (Sunderland Peacock & Associates for Whitbread-Sherwood Inns). A walk-through into the concert room also appears to the right of the bar. At a later date, this walk-through became a door; the public entrance to the concert room. The original entrance to the left of the bar is now mostly used by performers and staff.
This Tennants pub was taken over by Whitbread (1962) and, in 2010, leased to Thornbridge Brewery on a free of tie lease. At this point there was an extensive refurbishment and the name change.
notes, used with permission; Pickersgill,D.(Ed.) (2021) Sheffield's Real Heritage Pubs (4th edition). Sheffield and District CAMRA/CAMRA National Pub Heritage group. Sheffield
Reference: Sheffield Archives: MC/DC/332
Statement of Significance
Asset type
Public HouseAge
Built 1939 (Wynyard Dixon for Messes Tennant Brothers Ltd.).Rarity
This is a rare surviving example of a 1930s public house.Architectural and Artistic Interest
This is a rare surviving example of a 1930s public house: this is an imposing red brick and stone structure with a mock-Tudor upper storey (now painted grey). The entrance lobby has fine orangey-red tiling, with a row of black ties top and bottom, to dado height along with the original doors which have patterned leaded windows. The interior is opened out though the former five room layout is easy to discern.Historic Interest
This is a rare surviving example of a 1930s public house.
Date Listed
n/a
Last Updated
23 Aug 2022
Find Out More
Find out more about this Asset in South Yorkshire Local Heritage List:
https://local-heritage-list.org.uk/south-yorkshire/asset/5737
https://local-heritage-list.org.uk/south-yorkshire/asset/5737