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The Bartons Arms () is a public house in the High Street (part of the A34) in the Newtown area of
Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, England. Located immediately to the north-east of Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a ward within the metropolitan authority. It is approximately 1.5 miles from Birmingham City Centre. History Aston wa ...
, Birmingham, England. Built in 1900-1901 by noted pub architects partnership James and Lister Lea for Mitchells & Butlers, it is a grade II* listed building, and is on the
Campaign for Real Ale The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, England, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. With just under 155,000 members, it is th ...
's
National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors The National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors is a register of public houses in the United Kingdom with interiors which have been noted as being of significant historic interest, having remained largely unchanged for at least 30 years, but usu ...
.


History

The pub is known for its wall-to-wall Minton-Hollins tiles and its
snob screen A snob screen is a device found in some British public houses of the Victorian era. Usually installed in sets, they comprise an etched glass pane in a movable wooden frame and were intended to allow middle class drinkers to see working clas ...
s, which allowed middle class drinkers to see working class drinkers in an adjacent bar, but not to be seen by them. The current public bar was originally divided into three. There are function rooms upstairs, originally for billiards and club use. It was purchased in 2002 by Oakham Ales who restored the building to its former greatness before reopening it in 2003, after three years out-of-use. As well as serving excellently kept Oakham ales it is also noted for in house provision of Thai food. On 28 July 2006, the pub was damaged by fire, reportedly caused by an electrical fault. The pub still boasts Dutch gables, Victorian lanterns and central clock tower. During the
2011 England riots The 2011 England riots, more widely known as the London riots, were a series of riots between 6 and 11 August 2011. Thousands of people rioted in cities and towns across England, which saw looting, arson, as well as mass deployment of police ...
, the pub was looted, windows were smashed, and fires started, albeit quickly doused by the manager, Wichai Thumjaron. Up to eight shots from a 19th Century St Etienne revolver were fired at police who attended the incident. Five men and a teenager were jailed following a police investigation.


Location

The Barton's Arms is located in High Street, Aston, Birmingham B6 4UP; at the crossroads of Newtown High Street and Park Lane. The pub is a key feature on the route map for the Birmingham International Marathon.


Notable patrons

Laurel and Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...
stayed at The Barton Arms in May 1954, while appearing at the adjacent Aston Hippodrome (now demolished, replaced by The Drum Arts Centre), and were photographed serving beer from behind the bar. Entertainers Marie Lloyd,
Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyrical tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles (74) ...
and
Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
were also documented to have visited the establishment when performing at the Aston Hippodrome. Musician Ozzy Osbourne, who grew up in Aston, is also a former patron of the pub.


In popular culture

The pub features in the 1999 Atom Egoyan Birmingham-set film ''
Felicia's Journey ''Felicia's Journey'' is a novel written by Irish author William Trevor, first published by Viking Press in 1994. The novel was made into a 1999 film of the same name. The book won the Whitbread Prize and ''The Sunday Express'' Book of the Ye ...
''. It also features in the 2006 novel by Ron Dawson, ''The Last Viking: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Heist''; as the gang of robbers meet in the pub.


Recognition and accolades

In October 1974 the local TV company, ATV Today, did a feature with presenter Bob Warman on the Bartons Arms and the film (that does not work on all web browsers) of that is held for posterity by the BFI In July 2015, '' The Guardian'' described The Barton Arms as a "Victorian temple in carved wood, gleaming tile work, stained glass and wrought iron" in a list of Birmingham's Top 10 craft beer pubs. In January 2015, the '' Birmingham Mail'' praised the pub's in-house traditional Thai restaurant in a feature highlighting '17 of the best comfort foods in Birmingham'. In April 2016, in an interview with ''The Guardian'', screenwriter and film director
Steven Knight Steven Knight (born 1 April 1959) is a British screenwriter, film director and film producer. Knight wrote the screenplays for the films ''Closed Circuit'', '' Dirty Pretty Things'', and ''Eastern Promises'', and also wrote and directed the f ...
described the venue as a " Peaky Blinders-era pub" and recommended it as a place to visit. In October 2018, The Barton Arms was named as one of ''The Guardian'' newspaper’s top 50 pubs in the UK. In 2019, it was included in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide 2019.


References


External links

*
Astonbrook through Astonmanor - Photographs and plans
* Grade II* listed buildings in the West Midlands (county) Pubs in Birmingham, West Midlands 1901 establishments in England Grade II* listed pubs in England {{WestMidlands-struct-stub