A PUB has been selected as a listed building as part of a project to protect historic establishments.

The Wheatsheaf, on Mill Lane, Sutton Leach, has listed by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport following an effort by Historic England to recognise some of England’s best pubs built during the interwar years between 1918 and 1939.

The pub is among 21 pubs built in the period to be chosen across the country, being acknowledged as one of the best surviving examples of a time in the history of a building type which is steeped into the fabric of English culture.

The Wheatsheaf was opened in 1938 and on its first day a great crowd of drinkers, lured by the promise of a free pint of ale, were met by campaigners who sang and preached, warning against entering the 'House of the Devil'. An important feature at the pub is its bowling green, which survives to this day with recreational facilities seen as a key element of the 'improved pub' movement following the First World War, as breweries tried to attract a wider range of customers by offering more than just somewhere to have a drink.

The listing offers the building protection and reinforces it as an essential part of a common identity.

Emily Gee, head of listing at Historic England said: “This national project, the first of its kind, has surveyed the increasingly threatened and much loved inter-war public house, allowing us to identify, understand and protect the most special examples.

"And what better way to champion the best of our locals than by raising a pint glass to these architectural beacons of English community life now celebrated on the National Heritage List.”