The Roscoe Head
Four-room free house in every edition of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide
The Roscoe Head is a traditional four-room free house at 24 Roscoe Street, Liverpool. It is one of only five pubs in the UK, and the only one in the North of England, to have appeared in every edition of CAMRA's Good Beer Guide since 1974, and its inter-war interior is rated of very special national historic interest.
- Address
- 24 Roscoe Street, Liverpool, L1 2SX
- Cuisine
- Traditional pub
- Building
- The Roscoe Head, 24 Roscoe Street
- Built
- Inter-war (1930s) interior refit
- Nearest station
- Liverpool Central
A small pub of tiny rooms on Roscoe Street
The Roscoe Head takes its name from William Roscoe (1753–1831), the Liverpool historian and anti-slavery campaigner. CAMRA rates its interior at two stars on its National Inventory, as of very special national historic interest, and calls it the best example in Merseyside of a small pub divided into a series of tiny drinking areas. The building is not statutorily listed.
The interior is mostly an inter-war refit of the 1930s, arranged as four small rooms around a central drinking lobby. Surviving features include inter-war glazed and leaded panels on the room doors and street entrance, fixed seating with bell-pushes in the rear snug and right-hand room, a moderately ornate plaster ceiling in the back room and a 1930s fire surround. The bar fittings were replaced in 2006.
In 2015 licensee Carol Ann Ross launched a campaign to save the pub from conversion to a convenience store; she bought the freehold in 2020 and it has since traded as a free house.
Signature dishes
The Roscoe Head focuses on cask ale kept in good condition, with no background music.
- 01
Cask ales
Six rotating cask ales
- 02
European bottled beers
Selection of bottled beers from Europe
- 03
Hot pies
Locally baked hot pies served throughout the day
- Monday–Tuesday
- 11:30–23:00
- Wednesday–Saturday
- 11:30–00:00
- Sunday
- 12:00–23:00
Good to know
Has the Roscoe Head been in every Good Beer Guide?
Yes. It is one of five UK pubs, and the only one in the North of England, to appear in every edition since the guide was first published in 1974.
Who is the Roscoe Head named after?
William Roscoe (1753–1831), the Liverpool historian and anti-slavery campaigner.
Is the Roscoe Head a listed building?
No, it is not statutorily listed, but CAMRA rates its interior at two stars on its National Inventory of historic pub interiors.
Does the Roscoe Head serve food?
Yes, locally baked hot pies are served throughout the day.
