Vintners Parrot
Encyclopedia
The Vintners Parrot is a pub
in the centre of the town and borough of Worthing
, one of seven local government districts in the English
county of West Sussex
. Although established as a public house only in the late 20th century, it occupies two early 19th-century listed buildings of completely different character in the oldest part of the town: a Greek Revival-style
former wine merchants premises, and a Neoclassical
chapel built for Wesleyan Methodists
in 1839. The main part of the pub is in the wine merchants building facing Warwick Street, while the old chapel (usually called Bedford Hall), facing Bedford Row, serves as its function room. Both buildings have been listed separately at Grade II by English Heritage
for their architectural and historical importance.
, architect of many of Worthing's early buildings.
The business thrived, and a beer and wine shop (similar to a present-day public house or wine bar) were added. This was called the Vintners Arms, but it was usually known as the Thieves Kitchen locally—a humorous reference to its popularity with local tradesmen. In the 1830s, the premises were rebuilt in the Greek Revival style
, again using the pale brickwork often seen on old buildings in Worthing: the town had many brickworks in the 19th century, and the local clay yielded creamy-yellow bricks.
The Roberts family opened another wine bar and restaurant in the town in 1950, and ran it for 36 years. They owned and ran the Vintners Arms as a pub and wine bar until 1977, when they sold it to St George's Taverns Ltd, a pub chain
. It has since been renamed the Vintners Parrot and is owned by the Greene King Pub Company
.
The building was listed at Grade II by English Heritage
on 21 May 1976; this defines it as a "nationally important" building of "special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 198 buildings with Grade II status (or the equivalent Grade C), and 213 listed buildings of all grades, in the Borough of Worthing. (These totals have since changed because of new listings and delistings.)
(since built upon). The Warwick Street elevation has five bays
in two discrete parts: the eastern section (on the corner of Bedford Row) rises to four storeys and spans three bays, while the two western bays (on the corner of Marine Place) have two storeys and stand slightly forward and separate. Between the modern frontages on the ground floor and the yellowish brick walls, there is a cornice
.
The windows, most of which are sashes
, have various embellishments. Three sash windows on the first floor of the Bedford Row façade have iron balconies with anthemion
ornamentation. Most are multi-pane windows with muntin
s (glazing bars), and those on the first floor have flat hood mould
s. There is a larger window on the west corner, topped with a pediment
.
Circuit
of Wesleyan Methodists
extended its reach to Worthing: meetings were held in a private house. Two years later, a chapel was built on Marine Place. The flint building, named Providence Chapel, was used for the next 17 years; but in 1839 Charles Hide was commissioned to design a new place of worship nearby. The Hide family (some members took the surname Hyde) was at the centre of Worthing's architectural, building and surveying industry for 150 years from 1803, when Edward and John Hide went into partnership. Edward's son Charles designed Montague Hall and Worthing's original town hall as well as the chapel.
Hide's building, in the Neoclassical style
, was finished in 1840, and the congregation moved in. Additions were made in 1847 (when a first-floor gallery was built) and 1861, when a school was built on adjacent land. The congregation moved again in June 1900 when a new church (now called the Cornerstone Methodist Church) was built in Steyne Gardens. After its closure, the name Bedford Hall was adopted and it became a meeting room and auction house. When the National Provincial Bank
refurbished its premises in 1967, it moved into Bedford Hall temporarily. It was later occupied by the expanded Vintners Parrot pub, which turned it into a function room.
Bedford Hall was also listed at Grade II by English Heritage
on 21 May 1976.
ed Neoclassical
edifice with distinctive Egyptian-style tapering windows. The façade is dominated by the three windows, all wider at the bottom than the top; the left and right windows are longer and have flat architrave
-style hood mould
s above them, while the centre window (topped with a small pediment) terminates above the door, although the framed surround is carried down to ground level around it. The door therefore tapers from bottom to top as well. Above the windows is a cornice
topped by a shallow pediment
with a round window.
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
in the centre of the town and borough of Worthing
Worthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
, one of seven local government districts in the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
county of West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
. Although established as a public house only in the late 20th century, it occupies two early 19th-century listed buildings of completely different character in the oldest part of the town: a Greek Revival-style
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
former wine merchants premises, and a Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
chapel built for Wesleyan Methodists
Wesleyanism
Wesleyanism or Wesleyan theology refers, respectively, to either the eponymous movement of Protestant Christians who have historically sought to follow the methods or theology of the eighteenth-century evangelical reformers, John Wesley and his brother Charles Wesley, or to the likewise eponymous...
in 1839. The main part of the pub is in the wine merchants building facing Warwick Street, while the old chapel (usually called Bedford Hall), facing Bedford Row, serves as its function room. Both buildings have been listed separately at Grade II by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
for their architectural and historical importance.
History
The Roberts family entered the wine trade five years after Worthing was granted the status of a town in 1803—a development which encouraged rapid residential and commercial growth. In 1808, they established their business in a newly built yellow-brick building on the south side of Warwick Street, part of Worthing's old village street and one of the first roads to develop in the town's early years. The premises may have been built by John RebeccaJohn Rebecca
John Biagio Rebecca , the son of Italian-born decorative painter Biagio Rebecca , was an architect of many buildings in Sussex and London. He is credited as being the principal architect of Georgian Worthing...
, architect of many of Worthing's early buildings.
The business thrived, and a beer and wine shop (similar to a present-day public house or wine bar) were added. This was called the Vintners Arms, but it was usually known as the Thieves Kitchen locally—a humorous reference to its popularity with local tradesmen. In the 1830s, the premises were rebuilt in the Greek Revival style
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
, again using the pale brickwork often seen on old buildings in Worthing: the town had many brickworks in the 19th century, and the local clay yielded creamy-yellow bricks.
The Roberts family opened another wine bar and restaurant in the town in 1950, and ran it for 36 years. They owned and ran the Vintners Arms as a pub and wine bar until 1977, when they sold it to St George's Taverns Ltd, a pub chain
Pub chain
A pub chain is a group of pubs or bars with a brand image. The brand may be owned outright by one company, or there may be multiple financiers; the chain may be a division within a larger company, or may be a single operation. Examples include Chef & Brewer, Wetherspoons, Walkabout, Taylor Walker...
. It has since been renamed the Vintners Parrot and is owned by the Greene King Pub Company
Greene King Brewery
Greene King is a British brewery established in 1799 in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. It has grown to become one of the largest British owned breweries in the UK through a series of takeovers which have been the subject of some criticism. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent...
.
The building was listed at Grade II by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
on 21 May 1976; this defines it as a "nationally important" building of "special interest". As of February 2001, it was one of 198 buildings with Grade II status (or the equivalent Grade C), and 213 listed buildings of all grades, in the Borough of Worthing. (These totals have since changed because of new listings and delistings.)
Architecture
The building presents its main façade to Warwick Street, but it also wraps around the street corner to form the top of Bedford Row, one of Worthing's oldest speculative residential developments: a terrace of bow-fronted houses built in 1803 opposite a formal lawnLawn
A lawn is an area of aesthetic and recreational land planted with grasses or other durable plants, which usually are maintained at a low and consistent height. Low ornamental meadows in natural landscaping styles are a contemporary option of a lawn...
(since built upon). The Warwick Street elevation has five bays
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
in two discrete parts: the eastern section (on the corner of Bedford Row) rises to four storeys and spans three bays, while the two western bays (on the corner of Marine Place) have two storeys and stand slightly forward and separate. Between the modern frontages on the ground floor and the yellowish brick walls, there is a cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
.
The windows, most of which are sashes
Sash window
A sash window or hung sash window is made of one or more movable panels or "sashes" that form a frame to hold panes of glass, which are often separated from other panes by narrow muntins...
, have various embellishments. Three sash windows on the first floor of the Bedford Row façade have iron balconies with anthemion
Palmette
The palmette is a motif in decorative art which, in its most characteristic expression, resembles the fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree. It has an extremely long history, originating in Ancient Egypt with a subsequent development through the art of most of Eurasia, often in forms that bear...
ornamentation. Most are multi-pane windows with muntin
Muntin
Muntin or Muntin bar is a strip of wood or metal separating and holding panes of glass in a window. Muntins are also called "glazing bars", "muntin bars", or "sash bars". Muntins can be found in doors, windows and furniture, typically in western styles of architecture...
s (glazing bars), and those on the first floor have flat hood mould
Hood mould
In architecture, a hood mould, also called a label mould or dripstone, is an external moulded projection from a wall over an opening to throw off rainwater...
s. There is a larger window on the west corner, topped with a pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
.
History
Bedford Hall has a complex history with multiple uses. In 1820, the BrightonBrighton
Brighton is the major part of the city of Brighton and Hove in East Sussex, England on the south coast of Great Britain...
Circuit
Methodist Circuit
The Methodist Circuit is part of the organisational structure of British Methodism,or at least those branches derived from the work of John Wesley. It is a group of individual Societies or local Churches under the care of one or more Methodist Ministers. In the scale of organisation, the Circuit...
of Wesleyan Methodists
Wesleyanism
Wesleyanism or Wesleyan theology refers, respectively, to either the eponymous movement of Protestant Christians who have historically sought to follow the methods or theology of the eighteenth-century evangelical reformers, John Wesley and his brother Charles Wesley, or to the likewise eponymous...
extended its reach to Worthing: meetings were held in a private house. Two years later, a chapel was built on Marine Place. The flint building, named Providence Chapel, was used for the next 17 years; but in 1839 Charles Hide was commissioned to design a new place of worship nearby. The Hide family (some members took the surname Hyde) was at the centre of Worthing's architectural, building and surveying industry for 150 years from 1803, when Edward and John Hide went into partnership. Edward's son Charles designed Montague Hall and Worthing's original town hall as well as the chapel.
Hide's building, in the Neoclassical style
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
, was finished in 1840, and the congregation moved in. Additions were made in 1847 (when a first-floor gallery was built) and 1861, when a school was built on adjacent land. The congregation moved again in June 1900 when a new church (now called the Cornerstone Methodist Church) was built in Steyne Gardens. After its closure, the name Bedford Hall was adopted and it became a meeting room and auction house. When the National Provincial Bank
National Provincial Bank
National Provincial Bank was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1833 until its merger into the National Westminster Bank in 1970; it remains a registered company but is dormant...
refurbished its premises in 1967, it moved into Bedford Hall temporarily. It was later occupied by the expanded Vintners Parrot pub, which turned it into a function room.
Bedford Hall was also listed at Grade II by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
on 21 May 1976.
Architecture
Hide's building is a stuccoStucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
ed Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
edifice with distinctive Egyptian-style tapering windows. The façade is dominated by the three windows, all wider at the bottom than the top; the left and right windows are longer and have flat architrave
Architrave
An architrave is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture.-Classical architecture:...
-style hood mould
Hood mould
In architecture, a hood mould, also called a label mould or dripstone, is an external moulded projection from a wall over an opening to throw off rainwater...
s above them, while the centre window (topped with a small pediment) terminates above the door, although the framed surround is carried down to ground level around it. The door therefore tapers from bottom to top as well. Above the windows is a cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
topped by a shallow pediment
Pediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
with a round window.