The Harrow Inn, High Street and Sime Place

Dated 1868 but occupying an older inn site, the former Harrow Inn is especially important for its rare late nineteenth-century commercial bar interior, now carefully reused by Cafe Auberge.

Quick Facts

An Older Inn Site

The 1858 town plan labels a Harrow Inn before the present building’s 1868 date. The existing structure is therefore best understood as a rebuilding or major renewal of an established inn site, not as the beginning of hospitality here.

This distinction matters because a name can survive while the fabric changes. The directory records the present listed building and acknowledges the earlier establishment without assigning old material to it without evidence.

Architecture

The painted-ashlar frontage is three bays wide and broadly symmetrical, with a central entrance and a date stone at the gable apex. Traditional sash windows, a corniced fascia and cast-iron rooflights give the exterior the character of a well-built but relatively modest town-centre inn.

Its corner position at Sime Place increases its visibility and allowed ancillary functions to extend behind the public rooms.

The Bar Interior

The most exceptional fabric is inside. HES records a canted timber island bar with carved half-fluted columns, dentilled frieze and decorative arches, together with cast-iron columns, timber panelling and a traditional lobby.

Commercial interiors are vulnerable because changing fashion and operating needs encourage frequent refitting. Survival and careful restoration of this woodwork make the building more significant than its restrained exterior first suggests.

Cafe Auberge

The former inn now trades as Cafe Auberge. The restored woodwork gives the present business a distinctive setting while allowing members of the public to experience historic interior fabric in normal use.

Current trading details can change, but sympathetic hospitality use maintains a strong continuity with the building’s long social function.

Inns and the Textile Town

Public houses and inns supported travellers, workers, commercial meetings and everyday sociability. They were part of the economic network of the textile town rather than merely places of recreation.

The Harrow provides a valuable counterpoint to grand hotels and civic buildings: it preserves the more intimate architecture of High Street social life.

Things to Notice

• The 1868 date stone at the gable apex.
• The three-bay frontage and central entrance.
• The corner relationship with Sime Place.
• Inside, the restored island bar, carved columns and timber panelling.
• Cast-iron columns and the traditional entrance lobby.

Why It Matters Today

Cafe Auberge’s reuse allows the rare interior to remain visible and economically useful. Careful maintenance is essential because original bar fittings are easily damaged by apparently minor alterations.

The building demonstrates how heritage conservation and a viable independent business can reinforce one another.

Significance Scores

These are editorial guide scores, not statutory designations. See How We Assess Significance.

Timeline

• 1858: Town plan shows an earlier Harrow Inn on the site.
• 1868: Date on the present building.
• Later nineteenth century: Fine commercial bar interior is created.
• Later years: Public-house use changes and the building is adapted.
• Today: Cafe Auberge occupies the former inn and retains restored woodwork.

Notes and Uncertainties

• The earlier 1858 inn and present 1868 building must be kept distinct.
• The architect remains unidentified in the sources checked.
• Current business use should be reviewed periodically without weakening the permanent architectural account.

Image and Licence Notes

The photograph by Victuallers is reused from Wikimedia Commons under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Related Places

• Former Douglas Hotel
• Victoria Buildings
• Bank Street Listed Buildings Group
• Former Co-operative Department Store

Sources

• Historic Environment Scotland, LB31993: The Harrow Inn.
• Wikimedia Commons image page.

Last reviewed: 15 July 2026.