144 High Street
Newtown
Birmingham
B6 4UP
0121 333 5988
The Bartons Arms is a gloriously extravagant Victorian monument in the Birmingham suburb of Newtown (photo 1). It has a dramatic exterior of stone and red brick with multiple gables and a prominent clock tower (photo 2). It was once surrounded by terraced houses and small factories, but this was cleared away in the 1970s to make way for new roads. The Bartons Arms itself was nearly cleared away but it was saved by a local campaign and its listed building status.
Inside the pub is even more impressive, with ceramic walls and arches, etched and stained glass, and mahogany panelling. The internal doors have beautifully crafted cut glass windows (photos 3 & 6) and there is a magnificent round-topped stained glass window on the the staircase (photo 4). The lobby has a tiled painting of a hunting scene, slightly incongruous given the pub’s location in industrial Birmingham (photo 5).
The Bartons Arms was built by pub architects James & Lister Lea for Mitchell and Butlers Brewery between 1898 and 1901 towards the end of the Victorian pub building boom. The brewery left their mark with their M&B logo in the centre of the stained glass window (photo 4).
The pub is now owned by Oakham Brewery of Peterborough and sell their beers, including the award winning OHB. Thai food is served and I had a delicious Pad Thai on my last visit.
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