The Polar Bear

Details

KINGSTON UPON HULL

680-1/0/10109 SPRING BANK 08-AUG-05 Hull 229 The Polar Bear

II Public House. 1895, extended and refitted 1922. By Freeman Son and Gaskell, architects. Brick, stone detailing and ground floor main elevations, slate roof.

PLAN: Acute angled corner plot with lobby entrance from Derringham Street with smoke room to right and main bar room to left. The main bar room extends the full length of the Spring Bank frontage, including the four-bay single storey extension, with a secondary entrance at its centre. Bar servery between the two public rooms. Stairs to rear to the domestic quarters above.

EXTERIOR: Ground floor has a continuous run of large windows separated by pilasters only interrupted by the two entrances. These windows have a large lower single fixed light with paired eight light inward tilting casements above. Ground floor topped by stone cornice. The four-bay extension on the Springbank frontage has a stone parapet above the cornice. First floor of the main building is in brick with six over one light, horned sash windows. The window at the rounded corner is flanked by a pair of carved stone panels depicting an anchor, the sign of Hull Brewery. Above, rising from eaves level, is a carved stone pediment bearing the name "THE POLAR BEAR" with flanking festoons and scrolls. Roof is hipped to Springbank with a cross roof above the entrance on Derringham Street, the gable for which has a triangular oriel window. Attic further provided with roof dormer windows with paired, four over four light, sash windows. Two tall brick stacks.

INTERIOR: Main bar room has long curving ceramic fronted bar counter by Doulton, 1895 and fitted bench seating forming curved bays all along the Springbank frontage. The 1922 extension has a domed ceiling incorporating a stained glass top light. The rear bar or Smoke Room also retains fitted bench seating. Panelled doors incorporate cut and frosted glazing.

HISTORY: The Polar Bear public house first opened in the 1840s at Carlton Terrace further east along Spring Bank, its name connected with the nearby Zoological Gardens. Moved to its current site in 1860 and was rebuilt in 1895 with modifications in 1911. In 1922 the Hull Brewery company refurbished the pub and added the single storey extension.

SOURCES: C J Ketchell, 1993 "A Brief History of The Polar Bear Public House" (Local History Unit, Hull College) (ISBN 1 870001 94 X) P Gibson, no date, "The Polar Bear Tavern" (unpublished local history manuscript) G Brandwood, A Davidson and M Slaughter, 2004 "Licensed to sell: the history and heritage of the public house" English Heritage (ISBN 185074906X)

SUMMARY OF IMPORTANCE The Polar Bear public house is of special architectural interest principally for the quality of its interior fixtures and fittings. This includes a ceramic bar counter front, one of only about 10 still surviving in England. This is complemented by the good survival of features and interior fittings dating to the 1922 refurbishment.

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:

493469

Legacy System:

LBS

Sources

Books and journals
Ketchell, C, Polar Bear, the Museum, the Pyrotechnist and the Pub: A Brief History of the Polar Bear Public House, Spring Bank, Hull, (1993)
Brandwood, G, Davidson, A, Slaughter, M, Licensed to Sell: The History and Heritage of the Public House, (2004)

End of official list entry

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