With the last vestiges of the Christmas season ebbing way and the thoughts of excessive portions of turkey a distant memory, a weatherbeaten quintet of us descended on the mean streets of Battersea for an 8-mile meander through wind and rain towards to the centre of power, Westminster, for one last toast to the season. We emerged bleary eyed at Clapham Junction just short of midday, and following a quick repast at Golden Pie, arguably one of the finest pie & mash eateries west of Bow Bells, we soon disembarked to our first port of call at The Falcon. I have visited this pub often during my previous trips to the area, and after nearly a five-year gap, in felt like a welcome return to an old haunt. An imposing Grade II listed pub dating from the 19th century, it was originally built as a hotel, and its splendid architecture is evident both inside and out. As soon as you enter, you’re hit with a kaleidoscope of decorous features, from its distinctive oak panelled central bar which is purported to be the longest in UK, and designed by the artist M.C. Escher; the Romanesque columns with gold fluting, a pair of skylights with elaborate floral designs, a set of stained glass mirrors encircling an elaborately carved oak gantry that harks back to the Neo-Jacobite revival of the period and over at far end of the bar there is a preserved set of snugs, ideal for having a quite drink, even at the busiest of times. Although the pub is run by Nicholsons, there was an impressive selection of real ales and ciders, which included the likes of Doom Bar (4%), Landlord (4.3%) and Sussex Best (4%). The latter was served at a good temperature, although the barrel was a bit on the stale side, which is unsurprising given the quantity that is served at this pub.
We were soon on our merry way,
sauntering downhill towards the northern fringes of Battersea. We soon
disembarked at our 2nd pub of the afternoon, The Lighthouse. A
bustling public house adjacent to nearby Battersea Park, the pub was full to capacity
when we arrived, so we resorted to drinking in the pub’s expansive and covered
beer garden. The pub dates from c.1873, originally known as The Clock House;
little of its original Victorian architecture has survived, aside from its oak panelled
bar and some shelve fittings. Since its current owners The City Pub Co. took
over, the place has been extensively renovated with modern fittings, showing
off a flurry of low hanging lighting, diner style seating and bare brick walls
that reveal the extent of the original mid-Victorian redbrick structure. This
pub is catered specifically towards dining and has a family orientated aspect
which explains why it has become so popular. Although it would never make pub
heritage status, it is clearly a product of the times, as pubs strive to make
ends meet in these difficult times for the industry. The pub boasts a small yet
eclectic real ale selection, along with a range of keg beers. Since we were in
Young’s territory, I went for their Winter Warmer (5%) which was available
on cask. A well maintained and gloriously flavoured beverage, it was distinctly
warming on the back-end along with a melodious chorus of mulled fruits and
spices trailing away in the foreground, the ideal drink to wish good harvest
for the months ahead. After travailing for over an hour in a zig-zag fashion
across the River Thames through the driving rain, as darkness descended, we belatedly
sought refuge at The Morpeth Arms in Pimlico, on the fringes of Westminster. Built
in c. 1845 for the wardens of Millbank Prison, its position was a useful
vantage point just in case any escaped prisoners were spotted. Currently owned by
Youngs, the pub has a number of notable late 19th century fixtures,
including its distinctive octagonal oak panelled bar with geometric designs, a
semi-circular display of ornate mirrors with art nouveau designs, embossed wallpaper
with a fleur-de-lis design and an imposing clock that bares a distinctive gold
vine-leaf pattern around its contours. The
pub is relatively small in size, and the two drinking areas which formerly
consisted of the public and private bars can be still glimpsed, although today
a hallway links both areas; intriguingly, the pub also boasts a hidden area
known as the haunted vaults, and the upstairs private rooms are appropriately named
the Spying Room, with good views of the MI6 building over the river. The real
ale selection unsurprisingly was dominated by Young’s beers., although there
was the old guest ale at hand. Rather appropriately given its location I went
for Ghost Ship (4.5%). Although it was flavoursome, with a distinctive
citrussy hoppiness, it was served close to lukewarm, which banished any hopes of
a refreshing zing to realms of eternity.
Soon we were back on our travels,
quickly passing through Westminster Abbey and the House of Parliament, subsequently
we sauntered due west along the fringes of St James Park when we arrived at the
imposing art deco complex of the former TFL headquarters at 55 Broadway. The
building has been left vacant since 2020, and is currently being turned into a
luxury hotel, although if you go around the street, vestiges of its illustrious
past can be seen, through the sheer number of drinking establishments that
would have been popular with TFL workers during many a lunch break and evening.
We eventually settled on The Old Star, situated immediately opposite the former
offices. Now a Greene King pub, it is one of many pubs owned by the brewery
chain in the Westminster area. A distinctive three-floor building, undeterred
by the mass re-development surrounding it, the pub boasts a basement bar area, replete
with dining tables discretely situated within its former vaults, with original
stone-clad flooring that harks back its heritage. Meanwhile the ground floor
boasts a unique split-level structure that is seldom seen in pubs, a distinctive
panelled bar lines the vicinity replete art deco flourishes, surrounded by a procession
of thin columns that encircle it. Similarly, the ceiling has a distinctive geometric
design which harks back to the period when the pub was extensively refurbished.
As you go upstairs there is an there is an upstairs function room called the
Boundary Bar which can be accessed via a passage way situated by the front entrance.
Designed by Fitzroy Robinson & Partners with Sir Basil Spence, this construction
was a tad more austere and brutalist in style compared to the majestic
Victorian era buildings we encountered earlier on in the day, but nevertheless
it was a refreshing relief. As it was a Greene King pub it was dominated by
their beers and those of their many subsidiaries, which include the likes of Abbot
Ale (5%), Old Golden Hen (4.1%), Greene King IPA (3.6%) and Rocking
Rudolph (4.2%). Since it was the last day of the Christmas season, it was difficult
to resist the temptations of sampling one more seasonal offering before packing
away the baubles. Although rather sessionable in strength, it was profoundly
malty with a hint of spice in the back-end. Undeniably this beer is a classic
fixture that is seen in many of Greene King’s pubs during the Christmas period,
although I have seen it in a few free-houses as well during my travels.
It was getting close to supper
time as we glided across Trafalgar Square, passing by the woeful Norwegian
spruce that resembled something plucked out of a pickle jar. On the outskirts
of Charing Cross Station, we disembarked at our terminus, The Sherlock Holmes.
Situated near Scotland Yard, and various other locations along Northumberland
Avenue that were frequented by Holmes and Watson in the eponymous novels, the pub
blatantly cashes in on its local icon. Despite its supposed chocolate box
Victorian style appearance, it was built relatively recently by Whitbread in 1957,
as a themed pub for tourists. To this day, the pub continues to live up to its
promise, and it is a veritable cornucopia of Holmes memorabilia from a stairway
passage that boasts posters from movies, TV shows, plays and novels baring
Holmes’ likeliness, to its extensively decorated replica of Holmes front room
at 221b Baker Street, which was rescued from an exhibition at the 1951 Festival
of Britian. Downstairs, the pub features a number of fittings reclaimed from former
pubs that date from a variety of time periods, such as its distinctive oak panelled
hexagonal shaped bar that dates from the Edwardian era, surrounded by a tiled
floor with brass rail, replete with carved pillars that hold up an overhead
gantry, which feature a procession of individual frosted framed windows with a
central star motif. Polygons seems to be a reoccurring feature at this establishment,
from the octagon shaped clock situated by the rear of the bar with its roman
numeral time piece, to the 3-dimensional octagonal shaped chandeliers that line
the windows, which clearly date from around the time when the pub was
constructed. Indeed, the establishment features an eclectic range of lighting fixtures
such as the mixture of globe and teardrop bulbs that line that bar, modern
strip lights along the stairway, lantern lights above the exterior windows and
a notable globe lamp with a brass frame. Moreover, the pub boasts three separate
drinking areas, along with upstairs dining area called The Sherlock Holmes Room.
Meanwhile in keeping with its Victoriana theme, the floors are lined with wood
whilst decorous stained-glass windows line the vicinity; some of the window’s date
from the 1950’s or earlier whilst others situated by the alley-way are of a
more modern design, which is although is at odds with the other windows, in its
own right it is a worthy design of its own merit. Currently the pub is owned by Greene King, and
a number of their beers feature prominently on the handpumps although it also
includes a pair of beers from it’s in-house ‘nano-brewery’, including the likes
of Sherlock House Ale (4.3%) and Sherlock London Porter (4.6%). I
went for the latter, which was a welcome relief after a day full of drinking
pale ales and malty flavoured bitters. The porter was rich and smoky, with a distinctive
roasted malt element though dry in mouthfeel, it had some hints of strength and
was by a definition a classic example of the style that was once popular all
over London at the time when the Holmes stories were published.
Overall, the pub crawl was a satisfying way to end the Christmas season, even-though most of the pubs weren’t researched beforehand, each establishment that we visited that day provided a fascinating slice of history, from the likes of The Falcon with its M.C. Escher designed bar counter, to The Morpeth Arms which was constructed for the prison wardens at Millbank Prison to The Old Star, an one time haunt for office staff from the former TFL HQ; the city of London has a vast number of pubs with its own notable claims to history, and ones we visited that day only skimmed the surface. Moreover, the pubs we visited all had unique architectural aspects that made it differ from other establishments, none of the public house we found were bland and formulaic, they each provided a fascinating patchwork into London’s rich quilt of historic pubs, which make for a great excuse for a long days’ walk around the capital.
No comments:
Post a Comment