Tommy's Bar, Merthyr Tydfil

Built 1936-7 – architect A.E. Sewell for Truman, Hanbury, Buxton & Co. Ltd. Now mostly an open plan pub interior which may have been as many as five rooms originally, there is however two rooms with quality original fittings remaining but one is in use as a function room and the other currently used for storage and access to them is not easy to arrange.

From a report by English Heritage

The north-west side of the former saloon has been altered: it contained a large opening in 1995, and this has now been infilled with folding doors and partitioning above. Originally, this area probably contained the saloon’s counter, opening from the pub’s central servery. Aside from this alteration, however, the saloon – now used only at certain times of the week and for special events – survives remarkably intact: indeed, it is probably the best surviving and most impressive room at the Green Man. Its original status is reflected in the quality of the work. The room retains its three-quarter-height fielded panelling and a handsome timber chimneypiece on the south-west side, with pilasters framing the fireplace and the overmantel. There is some decorative plasterwork on the ceiling beams, and the canted bay window on the south-east is set with stained glass coats of arms. The bench seating on the sides of the room may well be original.

Work of an even higher quality survives in the adjacent room to the south-west, set in a single-storey block. This was probably accessible from within the saloon, but the main route of access was via the dedicated entrance at the left side of the Green Man, adjacent to the gates and off licence. The original function of this large room is not known, but it was probably a dining room or saloon lounge, both of which were typical features of improved pubs in the inter-war period, especially those of a substantial size. The room – now no longer in general use – retains decorative plasterwork to its ceiling and has square plaster panels on the upper parts of its walls, featuring emblems such as roses, a portcullis and a lion. On the room’s north-east side is an unusually large and fine timber chimneypiece, with pilasters to either side and an upper architrave supported on curved brackets. The room also has three-quarter height fielded panelling, and a skylight with its original stained-glass work. There have probably always been ladies’ lavatories where they are now situated, at the south-west corner of the room. The original arrangement at the room’s inner (north-west) end is less clear, on account of a high degree of alteration, though the area probably contained a serving hatch rather than a counter.