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The pub’s story
Cask & Barrel joins former shop premises around the bowed corner of Broughton Street and East London Street. Historic Environment Scotland dates the curved tenement to about 1867 and records the pub at number 115 linked internally and externally to numbers 1 and 3 East London Street. A council photograph from 1911 shows P. Dunbar's bakery and Cormack Brothers' grocery on the corner. Local historian Terry Cox traces a former post office at number 1 becoming the Commercial Bank by 1946. These are different predecessor units, not one proven bank-to-bakery sequence. The operator dates the present Cask & Barrel refurbishment to the early 1990s; accounts disagree about earlier pub use. Inside, an imposing horseshoe counter and gantry, brewery mirrors, bare floorboards and an ornate cornice give the cask-ale room its character. Outside, raised CASK AND BARREL lettering follows the dark-green frontage beneath the curved stone elevation.
What to notice
- 01
The horseshoe counter and gantry organise the main room.
- 02
Brewery mirrors hang above the bare floorboards.
- 03
The frontage spells out CASK AND BARREL in raised letters above dark-green timber.
The time rail
The building, the pub and its interior may date from different periods. The timeline keeps documented dates separate from tradition.
The bowed East London Street corner tenement was built, according to the statutory listing.
A council photograph records P. Dunbar bakers and Cormack Brothers grocers at the rounded corner.
Terry Cox reports that the post office at 1 East London Street had become the Commercial Bank.
The operator dates the Cask & Barrel refurbishment to this period.
The linked Broughton Street and East London Street tenements were listed at Categories C and B respectively.
Spurtle reports Gail Mitchell retired after 33 years serving at the Cask and Barrel.
Sources & confidence
Two statutory listings confirm linked premises:115 Broughton Street is within Category C LB45935;1/3 East London Street belongs to Category B LB45942, whose curved shell dates to circa 1867. The council 1911 photograph verifies bakery and grocery predecessors; Terry Cox separately reports the bank by 1946. These sources clarify the footprint without proving its merger date. The operator attributes the present refit to the early 1990s, but its earlier bars and CAMRA's 1992 conversion disagree; no first licensed-use date is asserted. Six distinct milestones are documented. Current operator and CAMRA seven-day bar hours agree. Prior exact map/footprint and inspected exterior references are retained; listing surveys did not inspect the interior.
Research reviewed
- Current identity, address, contact and visitor offer; ordinary hours only where explicitly statedVenue operatorofficial
SupportsOperator history: bank in 1960s, Come On In in 1970s, Claremont then Cornerstone in 1980s, Cask & Barrel refit in early 1990s; current address, phone and seven-day hours. Early pub-use claim conflicts with CAMRA.
SupportsCurved nineteenth-century listed tenement, stated 1992 pub conversion, horseshoe bar and gantry, floorboards, brewery mirrors, cornice and changing cask beer. The conversion claim conflicts with the operator history.
- Exact pub node 333159410 contains the recorded latitude, longitude, name, street and postcodeOpenStreetMap contributorsappearance
SupportsExact pub node 333159410 contains the recorded latitude, longitude, name, street and postcode. Retained XML verifies the premises; stale hours and telephone tags are excluded.
- Inspected exterior: curved green frontage, CASK AND BARREL lettering, sash windows and spotlightsCask operator photographappearance
SupportsInspected exterior: curved green frontage, CASK AND BARREL lettering, sash windows and spotlights. Oblique views limit door-position certainty.
- Newsletter 8 pages 4-5: attributed directory/1911 photo research distinguishes 115 Broughton Street, post office at 1 East London Street and Peter Dunbar bakery at 3; bank by 1946Broughton History Society, Terry Coxheritage
SupportsNewsletter 8 pages 4-5: attributed directory/1911 photo research distinguishes 115 Broughton Street, post office at 1 East London Street and Peter Dunbar bakery at 3; bank by 1946. Suggested merger date is inference.
- December 2025 issue 357 page 4 reports Gail Mitchell retired 13 November after 33 years at Cask and Barrel; Mitch earlier retired after 25 years as landlord when Caledonian Heritable took overBroughton Spurtleeditorial
SupportsDecember 2025 issue 357 page 4 reports Gail Mitchell retired 13 November after 33 years at Cask and Barrel; Mitch earlier retired after 25 years as landlord when Caledonian Heritable took over. Takeover date not supplied.
- 113 and 115 Broughton Street, LB45935Historic Environment Scotlandgovernment
SupportsCategory C designation added 10 March 1999. Nineteenth-century tenement; statement explicitly links public house115 internally and externally to1/3 East London Street. Interior not inspected1998. Does not date first pub use.
- 1-9 odd numbers East London Street, LB45942Historic Environment Scotlandgovernment
SupportsCategory B designation added10 March1999; bowed corner tenement circa1867, based on1867/1868 directory maps. Pub occupies right-hand ground bays. Interior not inspected1998. Building date is not pub opening.
- Corner of East London Street and Broughton Street,1911, item4345City of Edinburgh Council Librariesarchive
SupportsDated1911 municipal photographic catalogue identifies P.Dunbar bakers and Cormack Brothers grocers in the rounded tenement. Actual photograph inspected; shop names visible. Catalogue does not assign street numbers.
