Over the past few months, we have been busy renovating The Milton Arms, taking into consideration it's history within our design concept.
Since the 16th century, The Milton Arms has been a pub or coach house, with the most recent former owners, Vicky and Phil, running it for over 30 years. During their time they raised an incredible amount for charity and the parties they held were legendary. Prior to Vicky and Phil, the Robinson family of Elsecar ran the pub; we wanted to express these decades of history and deep-rooted community values within our refurbishment.
We liked the idea of having the feel and design of a traditional Victorian boozer combined with an old cosy country hotel however we didn't want to stray too far from the current interior to keep a familiarity within the pub. To do so we decided to retain and enhance many existing features; our idea was that returning customers won't be able to tell exactly what has been done and what hasn't.
We achieved this by reusing and refurbishing the existing furniture inherited when we bought the property and carefully choosing reclaimed additional furniture so the overall scheme had continuity. We extended the bar to keep the character of the original bar, sourced authentic looking timber wood flooring and chose period fittings and wallpapers, keeping a Victorian toned colour palette throughout.
Essentially we saw the venue as two pubs in one, with each floor using different stylings to reflect relevant historical and modern culture. In style and colour the ground floor was developed to represent a Victorian smoking room, with artwork depicting gentry and linking it to the grandeur of the nearby Wentworth estate.
The first floor nods to British social realism, playing homage to 'local boy done good' Barry Hines with a portrait of the late author, quotes from his books and original film lobby cards capturing moments from Kes. There is also artwork from the British film Room at The Top and the bandThe Smiths album cover artwork, continuing this theme.
The stair snug is dedicated to artist Harland Miller; born in Yorkshire, his artwork displayed puts dark, clever twists on catchphrases as titles for the books such as “I’ll never forget what I can’t remember.” We also feature a large Connor Brothers piece over the stairs to honour The Milton Arm's most long standing land lady Vicky. The piece portrays a fifties vampish blonde, this is in recognition of the young Vicky, whose favourite quote was - “I haven’t a blush left in me.”
With plenty of focus on the interior details of The Milton Arm, you may also notice there is an original Stones Bitter lantern outside the front entrance. This is a classic example of mid-20th century Stones lantern and another piece of the history we were pleased to keep as a feature
With plenty of new design features at The Milton Arms along with a delicious new menu and extensive drinks list, come down to discover it for yourself. You can book your table online today - https://www.miltonarmselsecar.com/book-a-table