11 pubs win special government status

Eleven English pubs have had their government listings upgraded thanks to an initiative by CAMRA – the Campaign for Real Ale – and English Heritage. Listing protects the pubs’ architecture, interiors and facades, and means they cannot be remodelled or extended in a manner that destroys their original features.

The Philharmonic in Liverpool (above) has been upgraded to the top status of Grade I – the first pub in the country to win such a standing. The full name is the Philharmonic Dining Rooms and was built at the turn of the 20th century by local brewer Robert Cain. The palatial building has several storeys and a deep cellar plus renowned men's urinals. An internal music theme relates to the adjacent Philharmonic concert hall. Sir Paul McCartney played an impromptu concert at the pub in 2018.

The other pubs that have been upgraded to either Grade II or Grade II* include two other Liverpool pubs, the Vines and Peter Kavanagh’s. The Vines was built in 1907 and is a sister pub to the Philharmonic with similar architecture. Peter Kavanagh's was named CAMRA's local Pub of the Year in 2019. It has been run for 27 years by 81 year-old Rita Smith. The pub has murals depicting scenes from Dickens' novels.

Two London pubs are the Coach & Horses in Soho and the Hand & Shears in Farringdon. The Coach & Horses dates from the 18th century and was made famous by the rude landlord Norman Balon and the drunk writer Jeffrey Barnard whose exploits spawned the long-running play Jeffrey Barnard is Unwell. The Hand & Shears is close to Smithfield market and takes its name from clothworkers who gathered there on the eve of St Bartholomew's Fair.

Red Lion, Rugeley, Staffs, is 16th century and has beams, quarry tiles and old wood panel.

Blue Ship, Billingshurst, West Sussex, is a Hall & Woodhouse pub dating from the 15th and 16tth centuries. Beer on stillage is served from a hatch. The pub has an annual dog show.

Haunch of Venison, Salisbury, dates from the 14th century and was a brothel before becoming an inn. It has a striking wood and plaster exterior and inside there are oak panel, beams and floor tiles obtained from the cathedral.

Square & Compass, Worth Matravers, Dorset (below) is known as a "Bastion of the Purbecks". The name comes from workers who dug and fashioned the local stone. The pub has no bar and serves two rooms with beer straight from the cask. Landlord Charlie Newman makes his own cider with apples from Wareham Forest.

Rose & Crown, Huish Episcopi, Somerset, is a 17th century thatched inn known as Eli's after owner Eli Scott in the 1920s. It has flagstones and four cosy small parlours.

Tucker’s Grave, Faukland, Radstock, Somerset, has two rooms, open fires and wooden settles. It takes its name from Edward Tucker who hanged himself from the beams in the pub in 1747.