THREE Warrington pubs have been recognised by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) – but they are not the ones that might first come to mind.

Architectural historian and author Geoff Brandwood has worked with CAMRA to release Real Heritage Pubs of the North West.

The book lists 150 pubs where the historic interior of the building has survived relatively unchanged.

So while you may think of the likes of the Barley Mow in the town centre, The Spread in Lymm and Parr Arms in Grappenhall as traditional pubs they have not made the cut because of interior changes over the years.

The pubs from Warrington in the book are the Grade II listed The Bulls Head in Church Street, the Grade II listed Orford Hotel in Gorsey Lane and Three Pigeons in Tanners Lane.

Geoff, 72, said: "It’s borne out of a project that’s been going for 20 years now to identify those few pubs that have had relatively little change.

"Pubs are being opened out, features are constantly being changed and so in terms of genuinely historic interiors there’s precious few."

Geoff's book and its regional companions in the heritage series are the result of 25 years of research by CAMRA to find pubs that have remained unaltered in the past 70 years.

The north west guide took around 18 months to put the book together and Geoff visited around half the pubs in the book, including Orford Hotel, which was used as a filming location for BBC's Ordinary Lies.

He was assisted by a team of eight researchers from the Pub Heritage group

The 72-year-old added: "Orford Hotel used to be rather rundown but architecturally it is a super survival with lots of really good quality work.

"This was the end of the 19th century/start of the 20th where people were building to last and building with real quality."

Orford Hotel, built in 1908 for brewers Greenall Whitley, is recognised for much of its six-room floor plan remaining the same including original seating and the original counter at the public bar.

The Bulls Head has retained its snug with bell-pushes and two screens by the entrance with stained glass panels and Three Pigeons has been recognised for its old dado panelling and tiling.

Of the wider area, Geoff described Liverpool as the 'outstanding epicentre' of great historic pubs.

He said: "I mean that nationally as well as regionally because the greatest pubs like the Philharmonic Dining Rooms, The Crown and The Vines were built at the very peak of Liverpool’s commercial prosperity and they were fitted out in a really sumptuous way. They are really quite remarkable."

Geoff, who used to work in the steel industry, also said that old fashioned table service has survived in parts of Merseyside.

He added: "In the past you’d press a bell and the waiter would come along and take your order.

"That tradition has really disappeared in this country but there are a few survivors in the north west like The Volunteer Canteen in Crosby and the Kensington in Liverpool."

The point of the book and the project is to help raise awareness of what is in the area so people appreciate their locals and regard them as an asset rather than a liability.

Geoff said: "There will be change over the years. Things don’t stand still but if we can point these things out to people survival is more likely.

"Around 20 pubs are closing nationally a week. Twenty pubs are neither here nor there but if multiply that week in week out we’ve lost an enormous amount of pubs in the past 20 years.

"Heritage pubs are as vulnerable as any other ones. It’s a use it or lose it situation. Anything we can do, such as this project that does raise awareness and gets people into pubs, is what CAMRA is all about."