The Albert

The Albert was built in 1862 on Victoria Street on the site of an earlier pub called The Blue Coat Boy, which was first recorded in 1831. This earlier pub—named after the famous charity school nearby—was purchased for £978 () by the Artillery Brewery in the mid-nineteenth century. The structure was rebuilt between 1862 and 1867 by Joseph Carter Wood, owner of the Artillery Brewery, and the pub was renamed The Albert, in tribute to Queen Victoria's husband, Albert. On 6 August 1867, the licence was transferred from George Fisher to James Robertson, who later transferred the licence to Joseph Walker on 2 February 1869. In the 1871 census, Walker was listed as the licensed victualler, William…

The Albert is a four-storey building constructed of yellow brick with red brick dressings and stucco trim. It is three windows wide facing Victoria Street, and five window deep with a two-storey, three-window extension. The original canted ground floor frontage is central panelled with glazed doors and flanking windows framed by granite pilasters carrying fascia, cornice, and baluster with ball finials. The return features coupled pilasters with small pediments over the cornice than runs across the full extent of the ground floor. The bar windows and glazed doors have cut, engraved, and frosted glass. The upper floors have recessed sash windows linked by ornate iron balconies on the second…