Pub signs

London Pub Signs – The Hand & Shears, Smithfield…

by exploringlondon

This Smithfield institution owes its sign to its close association with the cloth fair once held nearby.

The current Grade II-listed pub at the corner of Middle and Kinghorn Streets dates from the early 19th century but there has apparently been a succession of taverns on the site since the 12th century (the sign on the pub proclaims the date 1532).

Thanks to its location within the precincts of St Bartholomew’s Priory, it became a focal point for the cloth fair which was held nearby between the 12th century and 1855 (the street Cloth Fair is named for it).

As well as being a favoured location for those attending the fair to obtain refreshment, it was also the location of a ‘Court of Pie Powder’ (from French pied poudreux for ‘dusty feet’ ) relating to travelling traders.

The pub’s name, meanwhile, is said to be a reference to the Lord Mayor of London’s practice of officially declaring the fair open by using shears to cut a piece of cloth on the tavern’s doorstep.

The pub also has some association with executions and, legend has it, was a popular spot for people to seek refreshment as they made their way to Newgate Prison where, between 1783 and 1868, executions were held outside the walls in the thoroughfare now known as Old Bailey.

For more, see the pub’s Facebook page.

PICTURE: Google Maps

London Pub Signs – The Marquis of Granby…

by exploringlondon

This Fitzrovia pub, famous for its literary connections (more about those in a moment), takes its name from a popular 18th century military hero.

marquis-of-granbyJohn Manners, the Marquis of Granby, played a key role for Britain during the Seven Years War – between Britain and her allies and France and hers – and, thanks to his popularity among the soldiers who served under his command, had numerous pubs named for him (he apparently also had a hand in setting up many old soldiers as publicans).

In his most famous battlefield exploit, while leading a series of cavalry charges at the Battle of Warburg in 1760 (in actions which saved the day), he apparently lost his hat and wig and was forced to salute his commander, Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, without them.

All of which explains why the pub sign doesn’t show him wearing a hat and why soldiers from his former regiment, the Blues and Royals, have the unique privilege in being able to salute while not wearing headwear. The fact Manners was bald also apparently led to the coining of the phrase, “going at it bald-headed” – a reference to his fearlessness.

The pub, located at 2 Rathbone Street (on the corner with Percy Street – the address was formerly known as 38 Percy Street), is famous for its literary clientele during the years between the two World Wars – among those who drank here were writers Dylan Thomas and TS Eliot. They apparently shared the space with some low-level gangland figures.

For more, see www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/restaurants/london/themarquisofgranbyrathbonestreetlondon.

PICTURE: Ewan Munro/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0/

London Pub Signs – The Albert…

by exploringlondon

the-albert2This pub’s name isn’t too mysterious – it is, of course, named after Albert, Prince Consort to Queen Victoria, and given the date on which the building that now occupies the site was built – between 1862 and 1867, nor is the motivation to name it so – Prince Albert died on 14th December, 1861, leaving a bereft queen and a nation in mourning.

There had been a pub on this site at 52 Victoria Street prior to the current building – it was called The Blue Coat Boy and named after the nearby Blue Coat school – but in the mid-19th century the Artillery Brewery, which was located next door, bought the premises and renamed it.

The four storey building, which is now Grade II-listed (and dwarfed by the glass towers surrounding it), survived the Blitz and is the only building remaining from the first phase of the development of Victoria Street (and redevelopment of the area which had been a slum known as Devil’s Acre), only a stone’s throw from Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament.

Inside, the Victorian features include ornate ceilings and hand-etched frosted windows and wrought iron balconies. Also of note is the Prime Minister’s gallery – including some who were patrons here – as well as memorabilia including a House of Commons Division Bell and one of Queen Victoria’s napkins.

For more, see www.taylor-walker.co.uk/pub/albert-victoria/c6737/.

PICTURE: Patche99z/Wikimedia

London Pub Signs – The Seven Stars, Holborn…

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seven-starsLocated at 53 Carey Street in Holborn, this rather plain looking pub boasts a heritage apparently dating back to before the Great Fire of London.

Said to date from 1602, the Grade II-listed pub was apparently built as an alehouse, though the facade is 19th century as is much of the interior. Its location, just to the west of Temple Bar, meant it survived the Great Fire of London – though only just.

The name apparently relates to an appeal to Dutch sailors – it is said to have been so named in reference to the Seven United Provinces of The Netherlands (it’s also been said that the pub’s location is in the midst of an area of London in which Dutch settlers lived during the period).

It was apparently formerly known as The Log and Seven Stars or The Leg and Seven Stars, although it’s been speculated these are simply a corruption of The League and Seven Stars – a story which might make sense given the origins of the pub’s name (‘league’ referring to the union of the seven provinces).

The pub these days lies in the heart of the city’s legal community – the Royal Courts of Justice lies just to the south and Lincoln’s Inn, one of the four inns of court, to the north.

For more, see www.thesevenstars1602.co.uk.

PICTURE: Mike Quinn/CC BY-SA 2.0

London Pub Signs – The Coal Hole…

by exploringlondon

the-coal-holeThis pub’s name is fairly self-explanatorily related to coal but there’s a couple of different versions floating around as to why.

One story, mentioned on the pub’s website, says the name comes from the legend that the pub occupies the space which once contained the coal cellar for the Savoy Hotel – not a great leap given its location on the corner of Carting Lane and the Strand, with the Savoy Hotel just behind.

The other is that it takes its name from the “coal heavers” – men who moved coal – who worked nearby on the River Thames. Again, not too much of a stretch.

Which-ever is true (or maybe both), the current Grade II-listed building at 91-92 Strand dates from just after the turn of the 19th century and, according to a plaque on the property, was apparently briefly known as as the New Strand Wine Lodge.

During Edwardian times it was apparently a ‘song and supper’ club where patrons were encouraged to sing (something like the karaoke bars of today).

Gilbert and Sullivan apparently regularly performed here regularly during Edwardian times and the great Shakespearean thespian, Edmund Keane, apparently started the Wolf Club – ostensibly “for oppressed husbands forbidden to sing in the bath” but apparently as a pretence for considerably more debauched activities – in the basement.

Now part of the Nicholson’s chain. For more, see www.nicholsonspubs.co.uk/restaurants/london/thecoalholestrandlondon

PICTURE: Ewan Munro/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0/Cropped

London Pub Signs – The Assembly House, Kentish Town…

by exploringlondon

The-Assembly-HouseThis name of this Kentish Town establishment, which dates from the late Victorian era, apparently has nought to do with politics.

Rather it apparently takes its name from the fact that during the 18th century, this site served as a gathering – assembly – point for travellers heading further to the north – to places such as Hampstead Heath – in the belief that safety in numbers could protect them from highwaymen.

There has been a public house on the site since at least the end 18th century (it’s suggested it was at one stage named the Bull), the current capacious, Grade II listed pub, was built in 1898 and, designed in the French chateau-style, features a corner turret.

Inside there are still many original features including a circular glass dome, brilliant cut mirrors and elaborate wrought-iron screening.

The pub can also apparently be seen in the 1971 Richard Burton film, The Villain.

For more on the pub, which is located at 292-294 Kentish Town Road, see www.assemblyhouse.co.uk.

PICTURE: Jim Linwood/CC BY 2.0/Via Wikimedia

London Pub Signs – The Salisbury, St Martin’s Lane…

by exploringlondon

This popular Covent Garden pub lies in the heart of London’s Theatreland and is noted for its popularity with actors.

SalisburyLocated at 90 St Martin’s Lane, the pub was built in the late 1800s on the site of an earlier public house which had been known under various different names including The Coach & Horses and Ben Caunt’s head (the latter after the famed bare knuckle fighter when the pub apparently hosted such bouts).

It was first named the Salisbury Stores – an ‘SS’ motif can still be seen in some of the glasswork, with the origins of the name coming from the fact that the site was leased from Robert Cecil, Lord Salisbury, who was thrice PM in the late 19th and early 20th century, in about 1899.

The Cecil family’s coat-of-arms can be seen above the door on the corner of St Martin’s Lane and St Martin’s Court (Cecil Court is located nearby).

The now Grade II-listed Taylor Walker pub, which dropped the ‘Stores’ off its name in the 1960s, was restored in the mid-20th century and again at the end. It features original etched glass, hand-carved mahogany woodwork and art nouveau candelabra.

The pub, which, as well as its association with actors, has also long had an association with the gay community in London, has appeared in numerous films including Dirk Bogarde vehicle Victim and Travels With My Aunt as well as, in more recent times, The Boat That Rocked.

For more, see www.taylor-walker.co.uk/pub/salisbury-covent-garden/c3111/.

PICTURE: Garry Knight – Flickr/CC BY 2.0

London Pub Signs – St Stephen’s Tavern, Westminster…

by exploringlondon

The origins of the name of this pub apparently lie in something of a mistake (well, sort of).

St-Stephens-TavernLocated at 10 Bridge Street on the corner of Canon Row – just across the road from the clock tower at the north end of the Houses of Parliament, its name apparently lies in mistaken belief that the tower was named St Stephen’s Tower.

It never was, at least not officially. Prior to recently being renamed the Elizabeth Tower – in honour of Queen Elizabeth II’s 60 years on the throne, the tower, which contains the bell known as Big Ben, was simply known as the Clock Tower (another common error has been to call the tower itself Big Ben).

The name St Stephen’s Tower apparently was the fault of Victorian journalists. They had the habit of referring to stories relating to the goings-on in the House of Commons as “news from St Stephen’s” because MPs, prior to the destructive fire of 1834, used to sit in St Stephen’s Hall (the entrance to the hall can be found down the road opposite Westminster Abbey).

Hence we have St Stephen’s Tavern, a favoured watering hole of many politicians – including apparently PMs Stanley Baldwin, Winston Churchill and Harold MacMillan.

The pub has been around since at least Victorian times – it was demolished in 1868 when Westminster tube station being built and rebuilt a few years later. In 1924, the pub was expanded to take over the Queen’s Head next door.

It closed in the late 1980s but was reopened in 2003 with many of the original fittings restored. These include one of only 200 parliamentary division bells, located above the bar, which calls MPs back to parliament when it’s time for them to vote (tourists apparently often think it’s a fire alarm and flee when it goes off).

For more, see www.ststephenstavern.co.uk.

PICTURE: Ewan Munro/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0 (image cropped)

London Pub Signs – The Bricklayer’s Arms, Putney…

by exploringlondon

OK, so it doesn’t look like the most historic of pubs but the Bricklayer’s Arms in Putney does boast an interesting history (as well as a much accoladed menu ales).

The-Bricklayer's-ArmsThe Waterman Street pub is apparently the oldest in the south-western riverside district, dating back to 1826 when it was constructed on the site of a former coaching house and blacksmith’s forge.

Then named the Waterman’s Arms, thanks no doubt to its Thames proximity and the fact that, as a result, most of the clientele were freeman and lightermen working on the river, it changed its name to the Bricklayer’s Arms around the turn of the 20th century when, thanks to the extension of the District line railway, there was a sizeable amount of construction going on in the area.

It was briefly known as the Putney Brick before the current owners – actress Becky Newman and her husband John – took over the pub just over 10 years ago, during which time it has won a swag of awards including being named one of the top 10 English pubs by National Geographic and winning the CAMRA National Pub of the Year Award in 2007 and 2009.

For more on the pub (and the plans to extend it), check out www.bricklayers-arms.co.uk.

PICTURE: Ewan Munro-Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0 (image has been cropped and brightened)

London Pub Signs – The Punch Tavern…

by exploringlondon

This Fleet Street institution was originally known as The Crown & Sugarloaf, but took on the name Punch thanks to its connection with the famous satirical magazine (and not, despite the sign, the notorious thug, Mr Punch).

The-Punch-TavernThe now defunct Punch magazine – its name apparently comes from a comment at the first meeting of staff that a magazine should be like a good punch mixture – was apparently founded in 1841 at the Edinburgh Castle Tavern in the Strand, just up the road.

Following its launch, the staff apparently began to meet at The Crown & Sugarloaf and it was this fact which apparently led the to the name change.

While there has apparently been a pub here since the 17th century, in 1890s, the property at 99 Fleet Street was rebuilt and the pub, under the guidance of architects Saville and Martin, was transformed into a gin palace.

Now located in a Grade II listed building, the pub has retained much of its original Victorian character – with etched mirrors, a marble bar, dark oak panelling, banquette seating and a series of original Punch and Judy paintings dating from 1897.

The pub is now owned by Punch Taverns – the company took its name from this famous pub.

Incidentally, the name The Crown & Sugarloaf lives on just around the corner in Bride Lane – this small pub, which has a rather complicated history but is now part of the Samuel Smith chain, was once connected to the Punch Tavern.

For more, see www.punchtavern.com.

London Pub Signs – The Cutty Sark…

by exploringlondon

Cutty-Sark-pubAnother Greenwich pub whose name references an aspect of maritime history (see our previous posts on the The Gipsy Moth and the Trafalgar Tavern), this riverside establishment takes its name from a former tea clipper (which, not coincidentally, is on display nearby).

The clipper Cutty Sark was constructed in Dumbarton in 1869 to facilitate the transport of tea from China to Britain in as short a time span as possible. It made its maiden voyage the following year and but only ended up working the tea route for a few years before being used to bring wool from Australia.

Later sold to a Portuguese company, the vessel continued to be used as a cargo ship until she was sold in 1922 and used as training ship, first in Cornwall, and later at Greenhithe in Kent.

In 1954, the vessel found a new permanent dry dock at Greenwich and was put on public display. Damaged by fire in 2007, the ship underwent extensive restoration and is now displayed in a state-of-the-art purpose-built facility which allows you to walk underneath the vessel.

The three level Cutty Sark pub, located at 4-6 Ballast Quay (formerly known as Union Wharf), features a Georgian-style bow windows on the first and second floors (the first floor is home to the Willis Dining Room which has great views of the Thames).

The present Grade II-listed building apparently dates from the early 19th century (although the sign out the front suggests 1795 and it’s been suggested the building was substantially altered in the mid-19th century) but there is evidence of a public house on the location by the early 18th century.

Known at one stage at the Green Man, in 1810 it became the Union Tavern – a reference, apparently, to the union of England and Ireland which took effect in 1801. It took its current name after the Cutty Sark arrived in Greenwich in the 1950s.

For more on the pub, see www.cuttysarkse10.co.uk. For more on the ship, see www.rmg.co.uk/cutty-sark.

London Pub Signs – The Grenadier…

by exploringlondon

The-GrenadierThe name of the pub, like some many London pubs, comes from the building’s former purpose – in this case part of a barracks. 

The pub, located at 18 Wilton Row not far from Belgrave Square in Belgravia, was apparently first constructed in 1720 and, located in the barracks of the 1st Royal Regiment of Foot Guards, originally housed the officer’s mess.

It first opened as a pub in 1818 and was initially known as The Guardsman but subsequently renamed The Grenadier after the regiment was renamed – by Royal Proclamation – the First Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards in honour of their actions in fending off the French at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

A bright red painted sentry box – matching the patriotic red, white and blue of the pub –  stands outside the pub today in honour of its history.

Renowned around the world for its Bloody Mary, it has apparently attracted the patronage of some big names – back in the day these included King George IV and the Iron Duke Arthur Wellesley, and, in more recent times, Prince William and Madonna.

There is said to be ghost – known as ‘Cedric’ – which haunts the pub – it’s often referred to as the most haunted pub in London – and is apparently that of a young guardsman who was flogged a little over-enthusiastically after cheating at cards and ended up dead. He is apparently most active in September – said to be the time of year when he was killed.

A tradition of attaching money to the ceiling and walls has developed in an effort to pay off Cedric’s debt (and presumably stop the haunting). Along with the memorabilia relating to the pub’s history, the walls also feature a collection of newspaper clippings about the haunting.

For details, including opening times, head to the Taylor Walker website here.

PICTURE: Ewan Munro/Flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0 (image has been cropped).

London Pub Signs – The Old Bank of England…

by exploringlondon

This Fleet Street pub has an intriguing history. Its name comes from the fact it is housed in what was, until 1975, the former Law Courts branch of the Bank of England.

Sold to a building society, it was transformed into a rather spectacular pub after it was purchased and refurbished by Fuller, Smith and Turner in 1994.

The-Old-Bank-of-EnglandGo further back to the 16th and 17th centuries and the site was occupied by two taverns, The Cock and The Haunch of Venison.

They were both demolished in 1888 to make room for the new bank branch, located, as the name suggests, just up the street from the Royal Courts of Justice.

While it’s been reworked to suit a pub instead of a bank, the remains of the opulent “High Victorian” interior of the bank can still be seen when you step through the doors – no more so than from the upstairs gallery which overlooks the pub.

It also plays a role in the story of legendary 18th century figure Sweeney Todd, the ‘demon barber’ of Fleet Street.

The site stands between Todd’s barber shop at number 186 Fleet Street and the pie shop on Bell Yard owned by his lover, Mrs (Margery) Lovett. As such, it’s said that it was in tunnels below the building on the site that the bodies of Todd’s victims were dismembered and used for pie filling before the pies were sold by Mrs Lovett.

The basement now contains what’s left of vaults which were formerly used to store gold bullion – they were also apparently briefly used to store the Crown Jewels during World War I.

The pub is located at 194 Fleet Street. For more on the pub – which also has an outdoor eating area, see www.oldbankofengland.co.uk.

London Pub Signs – The Prince of Wales…

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Prince-of-WalesAnother Drury Lane pub, the origins of this one go back to 1852 when it was established by Henry Wells on the site of what was once a potato warehouse. 

The name, in this case, comes from Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s eldest son, Albert Edward.

Only about 11-years-old when this West End pub was first built, he remained Prince of Wales until succeeding his mother as King Edward VII (nonetheless, the location proved somewhat prescient – Albert Edward was to become known for his bon vivant lifestyle including his love of the theatre (along with, of course, his love of philandering.))

Located close to theatres and the Royal Opera House, the pub at 150-151 Drury Lane (on the corner of Long Acre) was rebuilt in Portland stone in the early 20th century when the street was widened.

Now part of the Taylor Walker group, it remains a popular pub for theatre goers (and even hosts its own events). For more, see www.taylor-walker.co.uk/pub/prince-of-wales-covent-garden/c0659/.

London Pub Signs – The Princess Louise…

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Princess-LouiseThis historic High Holborn pub is named in honour of the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyle.

The Grade II*-listed pub, which has been described by Peter Haydon and Tim Hampson in their book London’s Best Pubs as a “national treasure” and “the finest, most complete, most original, best preserved, most authentic high-Victorian pub interior in London”, was apparently built in the early 1870s and then remodelled in 1891.

While rather plain externally, this “monument to 19th century craftsmen” boasts a much-vaunted, richly detailed Victorian interior dating from this remodelling which features polychromatic tile work, stained and etched glass and mahogany bar fittings as well as a staggering amount of decoration. The heritage listing even makes reference to the men’s toilets and its marble urinals in the basement.

The pub, at 208 High Holborn, is part of the Samuel Smith Brewery chain who restored it to its former glory in 2007 (including reintroducing glass walled cubicles). It’s also been notable, apparently, for its significant role in hosting folk clubs as part of a revival which occurred in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Why exactly the pub was named after Princess Louise is something of a mystery and it has been suggested that, thanks to the fact pubs aren’t usually named after living members of the Royal Family, the pub must have originally had a different name.

Princess Louise, meanwhile, is notable for having briefly lived in Canada when her husband served as the Governor-General of that nation. She spent her retirement years at Kensington Palace.

For more, see www.princesslouisepub.co.uk.

PICTURE: Edwardx/Wikipedia

London Pub Signs – The Mawson Arms/The Fox and Hounds…

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This curiously named Chiswick institution, one of few pubs in England with two names, owes its existence to the brewery located next to the terraces in Mawson Row.

Mawson-ArmsThomas Mawson founded the brewery on the site in the late 1600s/early 1700s and it eventually became what is now known as Fuller’s Griffin Brewery located a few doors down from the pub.

The Grade II*-listed building in which the pub is located dates from about 1715 when the terrace of five houses was constructed for Mawson.

The 18th century poet Alexander Pope was among residents at number 110 (between 1716-1719, when he published his translation of The Iliad and his first collected works). A function room in the pub now bears his name and there’s a blue plaque mentioning his stay on the outside.

While there had long been a pub here called the Fox and Hounds, in the late 19th century, the old pub was extended into the corner building and gained its second name, The Mawson Arms.

The pub, only a short walk away from the Thames, now serves as the starting point for a tour of the brewery. It’s traditionally been a favoured watering hole of brewery workers.

For more, see www.mawsonarmschiswick.co.uk.

London Pub Signs – The Dickens Inn…

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The-Dickens-InnOK, the first thing to note here is that despite the name of this pub, located in St Katharine Docks, it has nothing to do with the famous 19th century novelist Charles Dickens. Well, not directly, at least.

That said, it still has an interesting history – dating back to at least the turn of the 19th century (although there is the suggestion it may be older), it is thought to have formerly been used as a brewery building or a tea warehouse and stood on a site about 70 metres east of its current location.

A brick ‘skin’ was built over the top of the timber building in the 1820s to bring it up to modern standards. It survived the Blitz but was slated to be demolished in the 1970s when the site was to be redeveloped.

But help was at hand and in 1976 the building was saved when it was painstakingly moved to its current site. The building was reconstructed to resemble what the inn’s owners called a “three storey balconied inn of the 18th century” (although there is something doubt whether such buildings ever existed like this in the 18th century).

Ah, and to Dickens. While the writer himself is not known to have visited the building, he did know the area well and its likely he would have frequently passed by it during his lifetime (in fact, when his grandson, Cedric Charles Dickens, formally opened the inn in May, 1976, he is quoted on the inn’s website as saying that: “My Great Grandfather would have loved this inn”.)

Spread over three levels with balconies on the upper two, the inn originally featured a sawdust covered floor and candlelit dining on the balconies. Both practices have since come to an end but the building does offer some great views of the dock and nowadays contains several different facilities including a tavern, pizzeria and restaurant called The Grill. There’s also a suite of function rooms.

Among the famous the establishment claims as visitors in more recent times are the late Joan Rivers and singer Katie Melua.

For more information, see www.dickensinn.co.uk.

London Pub Signs – Jamaica Wine House…

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Located on the site of London’s first coffee house in St Michael’s Alley in the City, the Jamaica Wine House comes with plenty of yesteryear atmosphere.

Jamaica_Wine_HouseThe coffee house, which was established in 1652 at the sign of ‘Pasqua Rosee’s Head’ (named for one of the co-owners, a Turk and former manservant called Pasqua Rosee), was once frequented by the likes of diarist Samuel Pepys who apparently had a pleasurable night there on 10th December, 1660.

Standing in the midst of what became a hotspot for coffee houses in London, it was apparently damaged in the Great Fire of London of 1666. Rebuilt as the Jamaica Coffee House in the 1670s, it become known as something of a gathering place for seafarers who were involved in the West Indies trade. The current name bears testament to that past (we’ll take a more in-depth look at the history of the coffee house in an upcoming Lost London post).

While the building which housed the coffee shop is long gone, the current Grade II-listed building, located just of Cornhill, dates from 1869 and was built as a public house. Built of red brick and red stone, retains much of its Victorian character outside and in – with the latter featuring dark wood panelling on the walls and decorative ceilings and glasswork. The basement features a wine bar.

These days the establishment – which is known fondly to regulars as the ‘Jampot’ – boasts a clientele which includes City workers as well as “bell-ringers” and walking tourists (or so the website says). And then there’s the three ghosts – one of which is said to be a dog.

Now part of the Shepherd Neame chain (which purchased it in 2009). For more, see www.shepherdneame.co.uk/pubs/london/jamaica-wine-house.

PICTURE: Matthew Black/Flickr. Used under licence CC BY-SA 2.0

London Pub Signs – The Lamb & Flag…

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We’ve mentioned this Covent Garden pub, redolent with history as it is,  before but we thought it worth a second look.

Lamb-and-FlagThere’s not much mystery surrounding the origins of the name – the Christian symbolism of the sign is fairly obvious and the symbol, which was used by the Templars and is also that of the Middle Temple, was apparently a reasonably common one for pubs. But the Lamb & Flag hasn’t always been its name.

While there’s been a pub on the site dating as far as back as the 17th century (the building was survivor of the Great Fire of 1666), it was apparently only named the Lamb & Flag in 1833.

Prior to that it was apparently known as the Cooper’s Arms (in what we assume was a reference to barrel-makers) and at one time in its long history was nick-named the ‘Bucket of Blood’ thanks to the location being used for prizefights.

The core of the present, Grade II-listed, building at 33 Rose Street is said to date from 1772, but the brick facade is 20th century. A narrow passageway known as Lazenby Court, which dates from the late 17th century and connects Rose Street to Floral Street, runs alongside it.

Regular patrons have included author Charles Dickens (one of the many London pubs he apparently attended not infrequently) and other famous associations include the poet John Dryden – he is famously associated with Rose Street thanks to the fact he was beaten up there twice in 1679 after upsetting people with his satires (the pub’s upstairs room is named after him).

For more on the pub, see www.lambandflagcoventgarden.co.uk.

PICTURE: Ewan Munro, Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

London Pub Signs – The Knights Templar…

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The-Knights-Templar

Located in a former bank at the corner of Chancery Lane and Carey Street, this pub takes its name from the Crusader order known as the Knights Templar who once owned the land upon which the lane was constructed.

The Knights Templar was founded in Jerusalem in 1118 to protect Christian pilgrims and took its name from the Temple of Solomon upon the remains of which its headquarters in Jerusalem was built.

The order arrived in London later that century and Chancery Lane was created to connect the site of their original headquarters in Holborn with their subsequent home which lay between Fleet Street and the Thames – with the latter centred on a chapel (consecrated in 1185) which still stands and is now known as the Temple Church.

The pub, which opened in 1999, was formerly the home of the Union Bank of London Ltd, built in 1865 to the design of architect FW Porter.

Original features inside the Grade II-listed building – built in the ‘high Renaissance’-style – include cast iron columns and ornate detailing.

It is now part of the Wetherspoon’s chain. For more information, see www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk/home/pubs/the-knights-templar-chancery-lane.