Two Liverpool Heritage Classics

Plenty of pictures and not much waffle (wahey!) as we arrive in Liverpool in the sunshine and head to a couple of the Heritage Classics.

On the way we passed a couple more...
Handy for Lime Street Station, the Crown, which I've visited in the past but just didn't have time for this time around...

And The Vines, the only one of the Liverpool classics which I haven't yet managed to visit. The staff setting up speakers outside the door and advertising karaoke, Guinness and fun weren't convincing me as we passed by later in the evening. 

Walking up Hardman Street we reached the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.  This Grade II listed building was opened in 1939 replacing an earlier building which was destroyed by fire in 1933.

And straight across the junction from the Hall is the Philharmonic Dining Rooms.

Entry from Hope Street is via the elaborate Art Nouveau metal gateway...

Philharmonic Dining Rooms (36 Hope Street, Liverpool, L1 9BX - web)
Stepping inside, it's simply stunning.
Mosaic floors, carved plaster-work, decorative copper panels, stained glass, gleaming polished mahogany woodwork...
I've visited a number of times and it hasn't lost any of its ability to impress.

Brahms and Liszt - ah, see what you've done there...

The Philharmonic Dining Rooms was built between 1898 and 1900 for Liverpool brewer Robert Cain.  There's all the history and information about the pub that you'll ever need on the Heritage Pub listing.

As with all Nicholson's pubs I've visited post-lockdown, the beer range was functional rather than exciting.  Their own pale ale was available, as well as 'Wainwright', 'Landlord', Purity 'Ubu' and Northern Monk 'Eternal', which I picked.  A reliable session ale served in good condition -  good enough to get you in the beer guide in many places, but there's a lot of competition in these parts.

We took our drinks through to the largest space, the one-time billiards room, now named the Grande Lounge which, despite looking quiet in my picture, filled up shortly after we arrived.

Predictable picture of the Gents...
Well, at various times I've faffed around taking photos of tiling; urinals made out of beer barrels; odd art work & mild smut in pub WCs.   
I may as well take a picture in the one place I can probably get away with it...

Leaving the Philharmonic, we visited both the Anglican and Metropolitan cathedrals, which the Philharmonic sits midway between.

A short walk further on and we made it to another pub on the National Heritage list, this time one that I'm surprised I've never been to before.

Peter Kavanagh's (2-6 Egerton Street, Liverpool, L8 7LY)
Always trust a pub named after a long-serving landlord.
Peter Kavanagh was licensee from 1897 to 1950 and was responsible for the refurbishment of the pub in 1929 which makes it so special today.

The front door takes you to the drinking lobby and main bar counter.  To either side of this are characterful wood panelled rooms, with a lounge bar directly in front of it.
It's a pub with a fair bit of clutter...

Beers on the bar were 'Abbott', Woodford 'Wherry', Purity 'Gold' (the Purity's getting around isn't it) and my pick from Cheshire's Mobberley Brewhouse.

We took our drinks through to the stunning rear room, which we had all to ourselves.

The story goes that a customer ran up a bar bill that he couldn't pay and offered to pay off the debt by painting the pub.   The expectation was a lick of paint, but instead he set about creating the  sweeping murals above the fixed seating in the front and rear rooms.  Sadly, it's a myth - the paintings were commissioned from a Scottish painter, containing scenes from Dickens in the front room and Hogarth in the rear room...

The unusual tables, which intrigued us at the time, were designed by Peter Kavanagh himself, with a water filled bowl beneath the central circular grill for extinguishing cigarettes.

Just two great pubs to get us started in central Liverpool and a fearfully long list to try to find the time to get to.

Next Up: We make the most of the £5.60 Merseyrail Pass to explore Southend and Waterloo