Former Dyke Road Hotel

Summary

A purpose-built 'improved' public house, built in 1895 to designs by Charles Henry Buckman in Tudor Revival Arts and Crafts style for Tamplins Brewery. Small 1930 extensions to the north and east and a 2010 kitchen extension.

Reasons for Designation

The former Dyke Road Hotel, built in 1895, to designs by Charles Henry Buckman in Tudor Revival style for Tamplins Brewery, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:

Architectural interest:

* a prominent corner public house with well-articulated frontages and decorative features, built in good quality materials to a high standard of craftsmanship;
* an early example of a 'reformed' public house:
* the exterior is little altered and interior fittings include bar counter, mirrored bar back, wall panelling, ribbed ceiling, fireplaces and staircase.

Historic interest:

* this is Buckman's best public house built in Brighton and is considered to be the only public house in Brighton possessing all the features of the Tudor Revival style.

History

The Dyke Road Hotel is a large purpose-built public house which replaced an earlier more modest circa 1831 'beer-shop', the Windmill Inn, on the site in 1895. It was built for Tamplins Brewery and was designed by local architect Charles Henry Buckman (1862-1904), who had already carried out other commissions for Tamplins, including their brewery office. The building's position was at the first stopping point on the route from Brighton to the very popular C19 excursion destination of Devil's Dyke. The Stanwix family were licensees under Tamplins from 1902 to 1973.

The building shown on the 1875 and 1898 25" Ordnance Survey Sheets is the earlier Windmill Inn. The present building is shown on both the 1911 and 1931 editions almost to its current extent except that in 1932 plans were drawn up for a flat-roofed dining room extension to the rear and a small extension with toilets to the east, both of which were built by Tamplins architect, Packham.

A kitchen extension was built in 2010. In 2016 the building closed as a public house and became a second hand furniture emporium.

Details

A purpose-built 'improved' public house, built in 1895 to designs by Charles Henry Buckman in Tudor Revival Arts and Crafts style for Tamplins Brewery. Small 1930 extensions to north and east and a 2010 kitchen extension are of lesser interest.

MATERIALS: the ground floor is of brick in English bond with stone dressings, the first floor is mainly timber-framed with plaster or brick infill and part is tile-hung. The rear elevation is mainly rendered. The roof is tiled roof with three tall ribbed brick chimneystacks.

PLAN: an asymmetrical building of two storeys and four bays along Dyke Road and three bays along Highcroft Villas. The original ground floor plan had a bar servery to the south-west divided between a private bar, public bar and off licence, a bar parlour in the centre and a coffee room to the south-east, and a tap room, kitchen and scullery to the north. From 1932 onwards the bar parlour and coffee room were amalgamated into a saloon bar, further toilets were added on the east side and a single storey south-east extension formed a dining room. The kitchen was extended in 2010.

EXTERIOR: the principal south-west elevation along Dyke Road is asymmetrical with unequal sized projecting first floor end gables. The larger northern gable has moulded barge boards, timber-framing with close-studding, ogee and curved braces. It is supported on curved stone brackets and has a four-light mullioned and transomed casement window. Below is a central entrance to the former public bar flanked by mullioned and transomed casement windows, the upper part with etched glass. The brick plinth has ornamental scrolled ends. The adjoining bay has a slightly projecting upper floor, tile hung below a hipped roof, with a three-light wooden casement, original wooden display panel and moulded bressumer. The ground floor has a four-light canted mullioned and transomed casement window with etched glass to the upper part. The penultimate bay is recessed with a timber-framed first floor with brick infill, some herringbone, a two-light wooden mullioned and transomed casement and a door leading to a balcony with wooden balustrading. The ground floor below has a three-light mullioned and transomed window with etched glass to the upper part and a linked entrance with double door. The southern end bay has a projecting first floor timber-framed gable with moulded barge boards, kingpost and curved braces, and is dated 1896. The ground floor has a square mullioned and transomed window with etched glass to the upper part and some etched and cut stained glass below. The adjoining low brick wall with window opening is part of a 1930s extension.

The north-west elevation along Highcroft Villas is also asymmetrical and is of three bays. The first floor is timber-framed and the projecting central gable has a wooden sash window interrupted by a ribbed brick chimneystack with scrolled bracket which pierces the side of the gable roof. The chimneystack has a scrolled wrought iron inn sign attached. There is a small casement to the right and a double sash window to the left. The brick ground floor projects around the chimneystack and has a coved stone cornice. There is a small casement window, a two-panelled door, originally to the off licence, and two mullioned and transomed windows, originally to the tap room.

The south-east elevation is of two bays with a timber-framed upper floor with curved braces to the return of the principal elevation and close-studding to the gable which is also interrupted by a chimneystack. There is a mullioned and transomed first floor casement.

The north-east elevation has a projecting timber-framed gable with barge boards to the north and a recessed centre with three first floor sash windows and a small gabled wooden dovecote. The south end has a further first floor sash window. Below is the single storey 1930s flat roofed extension with a central entrance flanked by wooden mullioned and transomed windows. A kitchen extension was built in 2010.

INTERIOR: the original divisions between the public bar, private bar and off licence have been removed but the bar counter with linenfold panelling, Jacobean style pilasters and mahogany top survives and also the mirrored bar back with etched glass and green tiled surround. The walls have linenfold panelling. There are moulded ceiling beams and ribbed ceilings with diamond patterns; also fire surrounds. The front bar has plank and muntin wall panelling and a fireplace of bolection type and the former tap room retains plain dado panelling.

The well staircase has carved balusters and newel posts with acorn finials. The upper floor retains original joinery including panelled doors to built-in cupboards, moulded door architraves, skirting boards, coving, floorboards and original fireplaces.

Sources

Other
East Sussex County Council SMR ME526558

End of official list entry

All text content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 , except where otherwise stated. Any supplied maps are © Crown Copyright [and database rights] 2026 OS AC0000815036 and may not be reproduced without permission.