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The Bridewell - Megan Johnson

Script :

The Bridewell is a historical-landmark pub situated in The Ropewalks area of Liverpool.

The Pub has an incredibly rich History, As the building was originally host to a police and fire station- Housing around 100 prisoners at a time with 7 Cells that have now been converted to Lavish booths to enjoy the craft beers created by the owners themselves.

The Prison itself opened in the mid 19th century and has been host to plenty of unique characters, One in particular was the legendary author Charles Dickens who in 1860 was sworn in as a special constable for 1 night in order to research for his book ‘The Uncommercial Traveler’

The building ceased to be used as a prison in 1932, but was brought back to life in World War 2 by the US Military.

After the short occupation, The pub seemed to be derelict for afterwords until the 1980s wherein the pub was rejuvenated and transformed into a music rehearsal space for local musicians and artists.

Although the Pub does not feature much in the way of Traditional Art mediums, It’s unique history and eccentric architecture more than makes up for it and solidifies The Bridewell as a Landmark Liverpudlian Pub.

Source:

Blog Post:

After meeting with the group and discussing what would be the best way to structure our video, we decided to assign each member a specific pub in order to add a more structured and sectioned feel to the video- I was assigned The Bridewell Pub. I felt a connection to this particular pub due to its interesting concept and history to it and after doing some digging and research I discovered plenty of unique facts and stories about the pub. I then collected the facts and stories I had found and created a script to use in the recording process which I found to help me stay on topic during the recording. I was originally planning on interviewing a friends relative who had stayed in The Bridewell in his youth, However he had unfortunately passed away a few weeks prior to us beginning to conduct our research.

I then recorded my section and sent it of to Jain to add to the video.

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The Vines

Script: Nele Washbourne

The Vines is named after Albert B. Vines, who first opened a public house on this site in 1867. It was rebuilt in 1907 as a Cains pub and is, like its sister pub, the Philharmonic, one of the great show pubs of the country.  It is a grade two listed pub on CAMRA's National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors, it is also known as the legendary ‘Big House’ on Lime Street.

The Vines was the work of Liverpool architect, Walter Thomas for the brewer, Robert Cain. Thomas (1849-1912) is famously known for his public house designs, Sefton Park and Audley House which is now an English heritage site.

This exuberantly baroque pub has etched glass windows, a folly tower, and extravagant faux Dutch gables. The impressive clock that extends over Lime Street (which is claimed to be the biggest free-standing in Great Britain) is by E J Dent & Co., the same company that provided the clock tower at the Houses of Parliament.

The interior of the pub is divided into rooms but features monumental fireplaces, carved mahogany, and beaten copper detail. It also boasts Corinthian pilasters and columns throughout. At the rear is the huge, ornate, high-ceilinged Billiards room, which was a staple of the 19th-century pub scene. The room is dominated by a striking stained glass oval ceiling dome.

In the Queensbury Room, above the fireplace is an intricate wooden bas-relief Viking Longboat. Around the walls there are fifteen plaster panels of cherubs engaged in allegorical pursuits and upon the ceiling is an oval plaster relief including 12 zodiac designs all created by Liverpool based artist Henry Gustave Hiller.

German Art historian Nikolaus Pevsner attributes the plaster reliefs to The Bromsgrove Guild, a 19th-century company associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement that was heavily involved in the plaster designs throughout. The Vines was once owned by A. B. Walker in the late 19th Century, who was later to pay for The Walker Art Gallery. At one time, it boasted its own art collection, which is still reflected in the ‘billiards room.' The room hung paintings worth millions but was relocated to the Walker Gallery and replaced by oil paintings of lesser value. Bill Bryson, a famous US travel writer, eulogised about the Vines in his famous book 'Notes From a Small Island’.

Today, the pub is often full of Liverpool characters and is a constant staple due to its historical conversation and atmosphere.

Sources Pevsner Architectural Guides: Liverpool by Joseph Sharples Public Sculpture in Liverpool by Terry Cavanagh Walks Through History: Liverpool by David Lewis Websites: https://pubheritage.camra.org.uk/pubs/112 http://www.bbc.co.uk/liverpool/localhistory/journey/lime_street/pubs/pub_index.shtml https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1084210

and my new mate Mark, who is a regular...

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Natalie’s Script

The Philharmonic Dining Rooms made by Walter W Thomas were built from 1898 to 1900. Designed as a public house, this iconic building is a perfect example of victorian architecture at its finest in Liverpool. Thomas designed the dining room for famous liverpudlian brewer robert cain and went on to create the Philharmonic Dining Rooms sister building, The Vines, located near Lime Street Station.

Upon entering your greeted with decorative gates that are arguably some of the finest Art Nouveau metalwork in England by Henry Bloomfield Bare (1848-1912). The pub itself is adorned in repoussé copperwork depicting musicians, intricately detailed stained glass and carved woodwork. The ornate details reflect the wealth and status of Robert Cain who sought to create public houses that were of great beauty. the textiles have also been carefully considered to make reference to liverpools music scene, maritime history and the nearby philharmonic hall.

It retains a wealth of high quality original features with arts and crafts elements including mosaic clad and panelled bar counters, mahogany woodwork and Jacobean style ceiling plasterwork. The philharmonic Dining rooms has renovated the former billiards room into the grand lounge where people can enjoy great pub food and drinks. The former smoke room is now recorded a ‘brahms’, aswell as the snug being named ‘liszt’ add to the musical element of this great public house. Arguably one of the most famous features of this public house is the gentlemen’s bathroom as it retains its original sanitary ware. Consisting of art nouveau mosaic panels, pink marble basins and decorative patterned mosaic floor.

Bibliography

Historic England Website, Accessed 28.03.24, available at;

https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/news/liverpool-philharmonic-pub-becomes-grade-i-listed/#:~:text=The%20Philharmonic%20Dining%20Rooms%20is,Grade%20II*%20listed%20in%201966.

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Work Log Four:

Our last pub visit was The Bridewell on March 19th. The imposing building and underground tunnel-like interior made it a pub with a private atmosphere.

After concluding the final pub tour, we gathered at a cafe to organize our narratives and plans for editing, discussing the artistic, architectural, or historical stories we could tell from the pubs we visited.

We've selected five pubs we visited and allocated the narration parts as follows:

Nat - The Philharmonic

Rosie - PK’s

Gain - The Grapes

Nele - The Vines

Meg - The Bridewell

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Work Log Three:

On March 12th, we visited a pub called Peter Kavanagh's together. It was a pub rich in sights with impressive curved murals by Scottish artist Eric Robinson. The pub owner kindly introduced us to the various corners of the pub where we could capture moments. The vintage furnishings and diverse decorations were a delight to the eyes. Even before we left, the pub owner suggested to record a interesting painting infront of the restroom. Thanks to the pub owner, our experience was truly enjoyable! As for the best-selling beer, Guinness was recommended without a doubt. It was a pub filled with joy and warmth.

'Both snugs have curved wood panelled walls with original 1929 fixed seating and above are original paintings by Eric Robinson (a Scottish artist) that date back to 1929 and a shelf and up to the ceiling are curved stained and leaded glass panels at the top. In a frame on the wall is what appears to be a pub myth “it states that he ran up a beer bill on a slate but couldn't pay it to Peter Kavanagh and said he would paint the pub. It says Kavanagh expected a lick of paint but got two fascinating murals of scenes from Pickwick Papers instead! However, the truth is that Peter Kavanagh commissioned Scottish painter Eric Robinson to complete two murals – one based on scenes from Dickens for the front room and another based on the work of Hogarth for the rear room. The eleven feet long one in the front ‘Pickwick Room’ is a variation on a scene from Pickwick Papers and the thirteen feet wide one encapsulating several scenes, all of which depict some form of drinking and merriment and has led to the name of ‘Hogarth Room’. '

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Work Log Two:

On February 22nd, we visited The Vines together, located a short distance from our school. The interior of The Vines was extremely impressive. In particular, the fireplace and spacious area made our experience even more special. The fireplace emphasized the traditional atmosphere of British pubs while creating a warm ambiance. Surrounding it, comfortable chairs and sofas were arranged, allowing our team to relax and engage in conversations.

While Nele conversed with the guests and shared experiences at the pub, the rest of the team explored every corner and captured moments with photos and videos.

The spacious area allowed our team to move around comfortably and enjoy various activities. With high ceilings and ample space inside the pub, we could freely move around, fostering enjoyable conversations and diverse activities.

'The Vines, built in 1907, is, like its sister pub, the rather earlier Philharmonic, one of the great show pubs of the country. Both were the work of the local architect, Walter Thomas for the brewer, Robert Cain. It is named after Albert B. Vines who first opened a public house on this site in 1867. No back-street, working man's local this - it was built as an up-market place of refreshment for those who prospered from Liverpool's role as a one of the great commercial centres of the Empire. The exterior of this imposing three storey building has been described rightly as 'a strange and original amalgam, with elements of baroque, steep gables and a jaunty domed tower'. '

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Work Log One:

Following our first meeting arranging the points of our project, We decided to meet up on the 14th of February- Focusing on the Knowledge and Georgian quarter pubs that we had researched.

The first pub on the list was the Philharmonic Dining Rooms, A Grandiose Hall that was built between 1898 and 1900 that has a beautifully rich history entwined with music culture and classic art nouveau architecture. We asked the members of staff for permission to film inside and then got to work- using our story board to film each scene we planned whilst making notes about the pub and the interior. After recording some key shots for the Video, We decided to incorporate a rating system for the most popular drink in each pub we visit, We kept notes for use later in the editing process and then moved on to our next pub.

The Next pub of the night was The Grapes, A quaint, eclectic pub that we fell in love with straight away. Unfortuantly we missed the Jazz Night that the pub usually has but we planned to visit a second time to gather footage to use in the film. Like the Philharmonic, We asked permission to film and then explored the pub, Filming and photographing the various pieces of art that decorated the pubs walls- Most of them being pieces from local artists which worked perfectly with the theme we had in mind for our project. After that we then bought the pub's most popular drink and used our rating system to make notes.

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Introduction Post:

Hello!

We are Group 2 of The LJMU History of Art filmaker groups, Consisting of Charnele Washbourne, Gain Jin, Megan Johnson, Rosie Topman and Nat Billington!

When we had our first group discussion in order to settle on a topic for our film, We initially could not settle on just one idea- multiple topics were brought up; Museums, Graffiti and Street art, Cultural festivals around Liverpool and many more similar topics. after feeling uninspired by these ideas we then settled on a more locally significant topic- Pub culture in Liverpool. We all believed this idea was brilliant as many topics can be derived from pubs in Liverpool, Such as the thriving local music scene and the various unknown artists that can be spotlighted in these pubs, Furthermore we also decided to explore Irish pub culture, haunted pubs with decades of history and many more exciting and unique locations.

After our initial discussion we then set out to research the pubs we could visit that were relevant to these topics, Forming a list in order to keep track and dividing the pubs based on the locations and quarters- to make our trips out easier to organise and attend. We then further met up to create a story board for our video, deciding on what theme to use for our project, the aesthetics of the video and how we could use these to evoke a specific feeling in the viewer.