Arthur Edward Sewell (1872–1946) was an English architect, particularly known for the public houses he designed whilst working as the in-house architect for

Truman's Brewery Truman's Brewery was a large East London brewery and one of the largest brewers in the world at the end of the 19th century. Founded around 1666, the Black Eagle Brewery was established on a plot of land next to what is now Brick Lane in London, E1 ...

. His career peaked in the 1920s and 1930s, and at least five pubs that he designed in that period are now

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

s with

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked with prot ...

. In all, he designed around 50 pubs.

Career

Sewell was the lead in-house architect for Truman's Brewery between 1910 and 1939, and he designed around 50 pubs during his lifetime. His career peaked in the 1920s and 1930s when English brewers were trying to shed the Victorian sawdust-on-the-floor image of their pubs for a less rowdy atmosphere with a greater appeal to women—a concept termed the "improved pub". His pub designs generally eschewed the then fashionable

modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

in favour of nostalgic neo-Georgian or neo-Tudor designs that presented a dignified front that celebrated Englishness. According to

Nikolaus Pevsner Sir Nikolaus Bernhard Leon Pevsner (30 January 1902 – 18 August 1983) was a German-British art historian and architectural historian best known for his monumental 46-volume series of county-by-county guides, ''The Buildings of England'' (195 ...

in ''The Buildings of England'', Sewell's pubs "usually sport attractive faience decoration and domestic architectural motifs". The last known pub designed by Sewell was the Royal George, near Euston ( 1939). Royal Oak - Columbia Road 1

1920s

In 1923, Sewell designed

The Royal Oak The Royal Oak was the English oak tree within which the future King Charles II of England hid to escape the Roundheads following the Battle of Worcester in 1651. The tree was in Boscobel Wood, which was part of the park of Boscobel House. ...

, a

Grade II listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

public house A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption Licensing laws of the United Kingdom#On-licence, on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the ...

at 73

Columbia Road Columbia Road is a street in Washington, D.C., that forks from Connecticut Avenue north of Dupont Circle, and branches north and east through 16th Street to the McMillan Reservoir. Along its route, it marks the southern border of the Kalora ...

, Bethnal Green, London, E2, for Truman's Brewery.

1930s

In the 1930s, he designed The Ivy House, a Grade II listed pub at 40 Stuart Road,

Nunhead Nunhead () is an inner-city suburb in the London Borough of Southwark, England,Southwark Council Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council southeast of Charing Cross. It is the location of the Nunhead Cemetery.BBC London Nunhead Cemetery/ref> ...

, London, and also for Truman's Brewery. In 1930–32, he designed the Rose and Crown, Stoke Newington, a Grade II listed pub at 199

Stoke Newington Church Street Stoke Newington Church Street is a road in north London of the borough of Hackney. The road links Green Lanes (A105) in the west to Stoke Newington High Street (the A10, formerly Ermine Street), in the east. Stoke Newington is one of the vi ...

Stoke Newington Stoke Newington is an area in the northwest part of the London Borough of Hackney, England. The area is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington (parish), Stoke Newington, the ancient parish. S ...

, for Truman's Brewery. In 1931, he designed The Railway Hotel in Station Road, Edgware, for Truman Hanbury Buxton, which Pevsner described as "the most exuberant of their neo-Tudor inns, complete with half-timbering, clustered brick-stacks, carved bargeboards and decorative rainwaterheads". The Goat,

Forty Hill Forty Hill is a largely residential suburb in the north of the London Borough of Enfield, England. To the north is Bulls Cross, to the south Enfield Town, to the west Clay Hill, and to the east Enfield Highway. Prior to 1965 it was in the hist ...

, Enfield, (1932) was a neo-Tudor design with "picturesque chimneystacks and intricately carved bargeboards". In 1934–35, he designed The Station, Stoneleigh, a Grade II listed pub at Stoneleigh Broadway, Stoneleigh, Epsom, Surrey. In 1935–36, he designed The Stag's Head in Hoxton, London. In 1936, he designed the Golden Heart, Spitalfields, a Grade II listed

at 110 Commercial Street, London, E1 6LZ, for Truman's Brewery. In 1936–37, he designed The Green Man in

Kingsbury Kingsbury may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Kingsbury, London, a district of northwest London in the borough of Brent ** Kingsbury tube station, London Underground station * Kingsbury, Warwickshire, a village and civil parish in Warwickshi ...

, north London. In 1937, he designed the Duke of Edinburgh at

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

Legacy

Several of the pubs designed by Sewell have been listed by Historic England and four pubs designed by him were included in the 19 inter-war pubs listed in August 2015.

References

External links