London Pubs of note

I love London, I love history and I love pubs!
Here is a random sample of some of my faves. All are well worth a visit and a little research:-

Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese was  rebuilt shortly after the Great Fire of 1666.

There has been a pub at this location since 1538. The vaulted cellars are thought to belong to a 13th century Carmelite Monastery which once occupied the site.
Famous literary figures associated with the place - Oliver Goldsmith, Mark Twain, Alfred Tennyson,Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K. Chesterton, Dr. Samuel Johnson and Charles Dickens.

My local - The Salisbury:

The Salisbury Hotel was opened in 1899, to loud cheers from the residents. The developer had thought the area too 'exclusive' to include public houses!
The Salisbury was the grandest building on Grand Parade. It was huge and impressive, with a large billiard room, restaurant and concert hall.
It had lost its grandeur along with the rest of Harringay by the 1980s.
New owners transformed the Salisbury in 2003. It was sympathetically restored to make the most of the original Victorian features, which are indeed impressive.

The Spaniards Inn:
A country pub in the City. After a walk on Hampstead Heath and then some well earned refreshment in their large beer garden, it's hard to believe that you are in London at all let alone in Zone 3!
Keats, Shelly and Byron all drank here as well as the old rascal Dickens.
The name itself is meant to derive from the Spanish ambassador to King James who lived there for a time.

The Argyll Arms is opposite the London Palladium.

The facade of the Palladium was originally that of Argyll House, hence the name of the pub. 

One of the few pubs to have its Victorian partitions still in place, which creates a fab intimate (if a little crowded) atmosphere.

Mahogany-and-etched-glass details downstairs are contrasted with portraits of Ken Dodd and Frankie Howerd in the Palladium Bar upstairs.

It’s a Nicholsons pub which is a shame but even so it manages to put on some good beer, including some of my faves Timothy Taylor, Black Sheep and Shepherd Neame.

The Golden Eagle:

A real fave of mine. A backstreet local that has survived. It is unpretentious to say the least.
It has thrice-weekly piano singalongs with Tony 'Fingers' Pearson, and one of the best fish and chip shops in London around the corner.
Now that is my idea of a grand night out!
Oh and is also famous for the grumpiest barman in London too.
He is actually a mate of mine - and yes, he really is like that all the time!

photo by Jacqueline Bannerjee

The Black Friar was built in 1875 on a site once occupied by the Blackfriars Monastery. The outside was decorated by Henry Poole, interior remodelled in 1905 by H. Fuller Clark, using multi-coloured marble, mosaics, bronze reliefs and alabaster.
Both Poole and Clark were committed members of the Arts and Crafts movement, and really went to town over this fabulous little pub. The decorative touches such as the elaborate fire-basket with goblin ends, monks singing carols, collecting fish and eels for their meatless days, and one is just about to boil an egg, are a great joy.
The quality and craftsmanship is wonder full right down to the door knobs and window fittings.
Its a gem, lavish yet tasteful a true 'must visit' pub
Go to http://www.victorianweb.org/art/architecture/pubs/9.html for more info and photos

Three pubs in Wapping:

The Lady Hilary first took me to the Thameside pubs of Wapping a few years ago. 

A perfect riverside mini crawl; it is still my favorite area for a pint by the river. There will be a few more riverside pubs in the follow up blog I am sure...

The Prospect of Whitby: claims to being the site of the oldest riverside tavern, dating from around 1520

All that remains from the building’s earliest period is the 400 year old stone floor. In former times it was a meeting place for sailors, smugglers, cut-throats and footpads - the hostelry of choice of "Hanging" Judge Jeffreys. According to legend, criminals would be tied up to the posts at low tide and left there to drown when the tide came in. It was mainly pirates that were executed here.
Turner, Whistler, Samuel Pepys and of course Dickens all drank here.

Town of Ramsgate:
A long narrow pub next to an alleyway known as Wapping Old Stairs.
The stairs lead down to the riverside where fishermen from Ramsgate sold their catch.
It was on Wapping Old Stairs, in 1688, that Judge Jeffries was captured whilst trying to flee the country dressed as a sailor.
I also like the story that it was formerly called "the Red Cow", because a barmaid there had red hair!

The Captain Kidd:
This is a fairly modern pub converted from an old warehouse I asume.
Kidd was hanged a little further upstream at Execution Dock. Its worth a mention as it has a fab large beer garden with fab river views and makes a nice set with the other two.

The Anchor Tap is lovely old pub tucked away in Shad Thames.
It's a Samuel Smiths pub like so many of Londons old historic pubs. Originaly the  brewery tap for the Anchor Brewhouse which is still just across the street at the foot of tower bridge

The Bull's Head:
What can I say about Strand on the Green? It is a particularly picturesque part of London.
The footpath runs along the bank of the river, overlooked by numerous imposing 18th-century houses and local pubs which, being on the Tideway, are regularly flooded,
It really is the place to be on a sunny day, especially when the tide is in!
There are three pubs on the strand but The Bull's Head is our fave. Licensed by 1722, it is the farthest east from Kew Bridge.

The Princess Louise is a classic example of a Victorian gin palace.
Built in 1872, the pub had a refit in 1892 in which no expense was spared.

etched mirrors line the walls, surrounded by polychromatic tiling, elaborate terracotta friezes, patterned ceilings, marble pillars with gilt capitals, tiled floors mosaics and stained and painted glass.

Even the toilets are spectacular - thank you Samuel Smith!

George Inn

Dating from the 17th century this public house is London's last remaining galleried inn.
The ground floor is divided into a number of connected bars. The Old Bar used to be a waiting room for passengers on coaches. The middle bar was the Coffee Room, which was frequented by Charles Dickens (my god he got about). The bedrooms, now a restaurant, were upstairs in the galleried part of the building. My friend John hired the Old Bar for his birthday party and we all had a fab time!
This was going to be a post of 10 favorites with out any order. I have gone a little past that already so perhaps this is the place to stop for now.

If you liked this keep an eye out for post two...