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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
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 
In 1930–32, he designed the Rose and Crown, Stoke Newington, a Grade II listed pub at 199 Stoke Newington Church Street, 
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, 
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 
In 1937, he designed the Duke of Edinburgh at
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 or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
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 Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...
. 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 is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
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'' (1 ...
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).
1920s
In 1923, Sewell designedThe Royal Oak
The Royal Oak is 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. C ...
, a Grade II listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
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 Kaloram ...
, Bethnal Green, London, E2, for Truman's Brewery.
1930s
In the 1930s, he designedThe Ivy House
The Ivy House is a Grade II listed public house at 40 Stuart Road, Nunhead, London.
It was designed by the architect A. E. Sewell in the 1930s for Truman's Brewery.
It was originally known as the Newlands Tavern, and has many original fea ...
, a Grade II listed pub at 40 Stuart Road, Nunhead
Nunhead is a suburb in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England.Southwark Council Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council It is an inner-city suburb located southeast of Charing Cross. It is the location of the Nunhead Cemetery.BBC ...
, London, 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
Stoke Newington is an area occupying the north-west part of the London Borough of Hackney in north-east London, England. It is northeast of Charing Cross. The Manor of Stoke Newington gave its name to Stoke Newington the ancient parish.
The ...
, 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 his ...
, 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 public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
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 a district in 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 ce ...
.
Legacy
Several of the pubs designed by Sewell have beenlisted
Listed may refer to:
* Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm
* Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic
* Endangered species in biology
* Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...
by Historic England and four pubs designed by him were included in the 19 inter-war pubs listed in August 2015.
References
Further reading
*Elwall, Robert. (1983) ''Bricks & beer: English pub architecture, 1830–1939''. British Architectural Library. *Gutzke, David. (2005) ''Pubs and progressives: Reinventing the public house in England, 1896–1960''.Northern Illinois University Press
Northern Illinois University Press is a publisher and part of Northern Illinois University. The press publishes about twenty new books per year in history, politics, anthropology, and literature, with about 400 books currently in print.http://www. ...
.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sewell, AE 1872 births 1946 deaths 20th-century English architects Public house architects A. E. Sewell buildings