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MANCHESTER, GREATER - Eccles, Lamb National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors Part One 33 Regent Street, Eccles, M30 0BP Tel: 0161 789 3882 Public Transport: Railway Station: Eccles; Metrolink: Eccles Listed Status: Grade II View this pub on a local map
A classic red brick and terracotta Edwardian pub of 1906 for Holt's Brewery by a Mr Newton of Hartley, Hacking & Co. The vault still has a separate entrance and a long bar counter while the remainder of the pub is served from hatches. There is a bar parlour, a lobby and serving area around the bar and an adjoining smoke room. The stars here are the shuttered bar and a billiard room in near original condition with a full-size table. Well-preserved fittings include the elaborate Jacobean-style mahogany door surrounds and chimney pieces, Art Nouveau glazed wall tiling and curved, brilliant-cut glazed hatches and overlights and mosaic flooring.
Front door leads to an entrance lobby with terrazzo floor and a dado of green tiles. Door on the right leads to the Vault which has seen changes - the outdoor department / off sales situated at the far end of the room has been absorbed. The door to it (and another door into the Vault on the same wall) have been blocked up, but the window above the door is still in place. The bar counter looks like it is an addition/ replacement - it is clearly not Edwardian but more early 1960s (possibly 1962?) - note the tiled dado in the former off sales area and how the screened area on the counter near the former door finishes short of the ceiling whereas the main original screenwork reached the ceiling! Two sets of 'Lamb Hotel' exterior windows in the Vault were smashed in 2009 and only replaced by toughened glass (say locals)!! There is an old cast iron fireplace painted brown with new tiles and the fixed seating with matchboard backs looks more 1930s or later. The 'Public bar' on the door is inter-war work.
A mahogany carved screen has a door with cut and etched glazing with the words 'Lamb Hotel' and overlights which leads to the Hall / Lobby bar. On the left the entrance has 'Bar Parlour' in etched glass in the door and two substantial glazed baffles with etched panels either side of the door. The entrance to this and other rooms have elaborate Jacobean style surrounds. The room retains fixed seating with bell pushes in the panel above. The good wood surround fireplace has modern tiles but the wood surround looks original. Second on the left is another room with original fixed upholstered seating and bell pushes in panelling above and a fireplace with modern tiles and Jacobean style chimneypiece. A wide arch forms the entrance from the lobby. There are some etched exterior windows but others were lost in 2009.
The amazing survival is the Billiard Room, with cut and etched glass 'Billiard Room' in the door, which still retains its full sized snooker table, and is in regular use. All around the room the seating is on raised platforms to view the action in comfort. The table was made by the London firm of Burroughs & Watts and is the original supplied when the Lamb first opened in 1906. The scoreboard was supplied by Rapper and Sons of Stevenson Square. Regularly the majority of the customers can be seen in the Billiard Room i.e. more than in all the other rooms and the lobby put together!
The Hall / Lobby Bar has a dado of Art Nouveau glazed light and dark green tiles with red roses which continues up the stair well with a mahogany stair of heavy Jacobean design. Dado tiling continues to the toilets off to the rear with their 'Gents Lavatory' and 'Ladies Lavatory' etched panels. The impressive screened curved bar is of mahogany with brilliant-cut glazed hatches and overlights. There are three serving hatches with sliding windows, all kept in the upright position. They relaid the lino tiles in 2009 and, instead of cutting around the legs of the billiard table, the firm doing it decided to just lift the legs as they went around the room. A few days later Holts had to pay a specialist to re-site the table so that the whole surface was level!
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