Public house. 1938 by A. C. Wheeler for Hansons Ltd of Kimberley. Fittings by Harris & Sheldon. (1)

The Test Match was built in 1938 to the designs of A. C. Wheeler for Hardys and Hansons Ltd of Kimberley. It is constructed from buff brick with stone portico and red brick plinth and widow heads; the roof is of red tiles. The plan of the pub consists of two bars at front and, to the left, a former off-licence. Behind the latter is a public bar with a separate entrance and to the rear centre there is a large assembly room. The front elevation of the building is near symmetrical, the central part brought forward and with a prostyle flat-roofed portico with paired columns to the sides. Behind the portico is a revolving door (added in 1950) which provides the entrance to the lounge. Within the room the cricketing motif is expressed in wall paintings (of c.1950) by the Nottinghamshire artist, T. L. B. Hutchinson, of festooned bats, an urn for the ashes, and notable cricketers. The latter are William Clarke, who laid out the county ground, and the great batsman George Parr. Of particular interest in the lounge is the Art Deco cinema-style ceiling lighting along with the Art Deco detailing of the woodwork and fireplace. A wide staircase leads upstairs to a cocktail bar and impressively complete, original toilets. To the right is a further bar, (formerly a men-only smoke room,) with lower ceiling and linked to the lounge by an opening widened in the late 20th century. It also contains similar wall panelling to the lounge. The public bar - separate and on the left of the building - has a remarkably complete assemblage of 1930s work. There is terrazzo flooring in jazzy geometrical patterns of yellow, grey, orange and black. The bar counter rises in three tiers of rectangular panels, breaking forward as they rise; simple shelving to bar back and a fire surround of slate blocks with angular detail.The Test Match is a highly distinctive public house of the 1930's and the near-complete survival of its 1930s plan and accompanying fittings is now extremely rare. (3)

<1> DOE, Listed Building Description (Published document). SNT228.

<1> English Heritage, Listed Buildings Online (Unknown). SNT2439.

<2> Historic England, 2021, National Record of Historic Environment (Digital archive). SNT5271.