Imperial Bar, Wishaw

This town centre drinkers' pub is most interesting for its layout, with a series of four snugs along the left-hand side which were probably mostly installed a decade or so after the Second World War as they have a flimsiness which is not usually associated with interwar work. They have high sides and three of them are just large enough to accommodate a table and seats around three sides. The fourth snug is larger than the others and is nicknamed ‘the executive suite’ – in the past it had its own gantry with whisky bottles and was used by shop proprietors who kept their own slate and paid when they left. It even had a phone in it. There are no doors on any of the snugs however, until the early 1990s locals claim the front one did have a door as well as the fourth one. A row of snugs across the room from the servery is rare in Scotland but is seen in a number of pubs in Northern Ireland.

The back gantry, which is modern, and bar counter are arranged on the right-hand side, parallel to the snugs. There was another small snug at the front, which was once the preserve of ladies but in 2010 it was combined with the public bar by removing the partition between them but the glazed screen with a hatch that was on the counter top is stored in the cellar. For many years ladies did not access to the main part of the pub and there was no toilet for them (they could use the gents' by timing things right!). Large rear lounge added quite recently.