Absorbing ambience of quiet corner of history.

Byline: By Alastair Gilmour

Just when you'd thought you'd seen everything - and done it - something comes along to take your breath away.

It's probably an antidote to Smart Alec syndrome, but also a reminder that when it comes to beer, breweries and pubs, there's an awful lot to absorb. So, when someone calls a North-East bar "a miniature Edwardian drinking palace" and "one of the hidden gems of Tyne and Wear", it's time to sit up and pay attention.

We're wallowing in the splendours of the buffet of the Mountain Daisy pub on Hylton Road, Sunderland, with architectural historian, research fellow and lecturer, Lynn Pearson, who regards it as one of the best pub interiors in the country. Gosforth-based Lynn specialises in ceramic tiles which reached the zenith of their popularity in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. She is an active member of the Tiles & Architectural Ceramics Society, which takes responsibility for their study and protection. And, the Mountain Daisy - a huge, three-storied, red-bricked, 1901 salute to Sunderland's boom years - has glazed tiles wall-to-wall and ceiling-to-floor, with some intriguing stained glass displayed for good measure.

The buffet also features eight hand-painted 4'6" x 3' panels showing Northumbrian scenes which include Cragside Hall, Bamburgh Castle, Finchale Priory, Marsden Rock, a ship steaming under the High Level Bridge, shipping on the Wear and Durham Cathedral.

"It's so unspoilt," says Lynn. "They've redone the seats at some time but you could be in 1902 - apart from the John Smith's Extra Smooth on the bar, that is.

A ceramic-fronted, marble-topped, quarter-circle counter fits neatly across the corner of the room, which is virtually identical to the photograph in Craven Dunnill's 1902 brochure, which flaunted the Shropshire ceramic company's expertise. There are several more examples of pictorial stained glass on the stairs.

"With the shipyards just down the road, there would have been enough money passing through this pub to make it a worthwhile investment," says Lynn, who - despite this being her umpteenth visit - still gets a thrill out of this quiet corner of history.

"Sunderland was quite prosperous until 1907, then with recession it fell apart," she says. "The Mountain Daisy compares with the Cafe Royal in Edinburgh and the Centurion Bar at Newcastle Central Station. Locally, the other place you can compare it with for use of ceramics is North Shields, where there was similar competition for custom from the fishing industry."

"Somebody would have designed the whole thing in squares and somebody else would have painted them - there were whole squads of paintresses on one job and some designers were women, too. The tile fixer was a very important figure; he made the place look like it was designed to."

Not wishing to argue with an expert, we ponder over our pint of Guinness that the buffet's decorative windows may be foreign in origin - just as Lynn says: "I'm not convinced those windows are original, but they could be 1920s."

Kevin Charles, the Mountain Daisy's assistant manager, points out the fabulous mosaic floor, which has been preserved by being carpeted for some of its life.

Lynn is amazed at the surrounding beauty. "It's in remarkably good nick," she says.

Smart Alec just sits with a glazed expression.

* Alastair Gilmour is the 2002 Budweiser Budvar beer writer, awarded by the British Guild of Beer Writers.