Ep 05 Gin-uine Excitement - Gin Palaces Pt2 - The Viaduct Tavern, The Princess Louise & The Crown and Sugarloaf

On this, our second episode on the great gin palaces of London, we visit the last 3 on our top 5 list:  The Viaduct Tavern, The Princess Louise and The Crown and Sugarloaf.
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Google map with pubs covered in previous episodes pinned, courtesy of Andy Meddick:

https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/4/edit?mid=12c-WKa3XiT1qTLydK8psZocUR7Y_Wes&usp=sharing

Or TinyURL: https://tinyurl.com/bduca5dv

The following resources are quoted frequently in these episodes:

• Ted Bruning  -- Historic Pubs of London (ISBN 978-0658005022) and London By Pub (ISBN 978-0658005022)
• Wikipedia
• https://londonspubswherehistoryreallyhappened.wordpress.com/  by Ann Laffeaty

Additionally, the  following resource(s) were quoted in this episode:

• https://www.viaducttavern.co.uk/
• Isobel Watkins - Underground Prison Cells And Pesky Poltergeists: Is This London’s Most Haunted Pub?, designmynight.com
• The First Public Drinking Fountain, atlasobscura.com
• The Princess Louise Pub, londonupclose.com
• Camra -Pub Heritage - Historic Pub Interiors, pubheritage.camra.org.uk

Intro music:

Vivaldi - Spring Allegro byJohn Harrison with the Wichita State University Chamber

Photo: Stuart Maxwell

Website: https://historiclondonpubcast.com/

E-mail: hosteric@historiclondonpubcast.com

Transcript

Welcome to this episode of The Historic London Pubcast. I'm Eric Blair, and I'd like to take you on a journey through the rich history of London's iconic pubs. My goal is to share with you my passion for the great old pubs of London. I want to give you some facts to help you appreciate the history of these hallowed establishments mixed in with some fun stories that make it all go down as smooth as a well poured pint. 

Today is the second episode on the great London pubs that can be described as Gin Palaces. In Episode One, I discussed what the term Gin Palace refers to and how that came about. If you haven't listened to that episode, it would probably be best to do so before jumping in here. We cover two great Gin Palace pubs in that one. Today we will finish our Top Five List with three more. 

Let's start in Holborn at the wonderful Viaduct Tavern. Walking up to the Viaduct Tavern at 123 Newgate Street, your attention might be distracted by the towering dome of Saint Paul's Cathedral looming in the distance, but your gaze is quickly snagged by a grand Victorian building ahead. This is the Viaduct Tavern.

A polished brass signage hangs proudly above the entrance. As you step closer, you notice the intricate details. The ornate corbel supporting the awning, the faded lettering above the doorway boasting of the year it was built - 1874. The pub gleams with a fresh coat of paint, hinting at its long and storied past with a gentle push. The heavy oak door swings open, ushering you into a cool, comforting embrace. Gleaming brass taps, flank ornately etched glass panels behind the bar. To your left, a magnificent Victorian gin booth. Its shelves crammed with an astonishing array of colorful bottles, beckons gin enthusiasts. Along the walls, the grand murals depicting scenes of London in a bygone era for your attention. High ceilings adorned with intricate plasterwork complete the grandeur of the space. 

Dotted around the pub, a comfortable mix of seating beckons. Plush red armchairs huddle around low tables, perfect for intimate conversations. High back wooden stools line the bar, ideal for catching the latest local gossip. In the back, a worn leather Chesterfield sofa invites you to sink in with a pint and a good book. The overall atmosphere is warm and inviting, a delightful blend of old world charm and modern comfort.

TheViaduct Tavernpromises a genuine London pub experience. As usual, Ted Bruning's  Historic Pubs of London book gives us a good thumbnail of the pub's history, 

“This handsome little corner site pub of the 1870s stands on what must be one of the most melancholy sights in England, for this was once Newgate Prison, where public hangings were held. Little is left to remind the visitor of Newgate’s grim existence, although it was London's most notorious prison from the Middle Ages until the late 1860s, when it was finally demolished and replaced by Holborn Viaduct. The ornate pub which replaced this hellhole could hardly be more wholesome, with its painted mirrors bearing scenes from Greek mythology, it's intricately patterned ceiling, its brilliant cut glass screens, and mahogany bar.”

This is a Fuller's pub, and they proudly say on their Viaduct website, 

“We are a traditional Gin Palace with an ever increasing variety of gins.”

So they are sticking to their Gin Palace roots.

Good for them. On another site, I found that the pub was remodeled in 1898 to 1900. Again we see a great Gin Palace pub being brought out at the very end of the century, just before the gin market took a crash. But this pub is not just a pretty face, it has another characteristic of interest. Numerous YouTube videos and websites play up the haunted aspect of The Viaduct.

This description from designmynight.com is typical, 

If you're brave enough to venture into the cellar, you'll find several disused prison cells, which apparently date back to the days when this plot was used as a debtor's prison. The pub also just happens to overlook the exact spot where thousands of executions took place in the 1800s. Previous tales include a couple of visiting builders in 1999 that claimed they felt a tap on their shoulder before the roll of carpet they were due to fit, rose into the air, slamming back down to the ground with a thud. Seconds later, a former landlord also recalls all the lights suddenly going out; the door slamming and hearing someone whisper, “There's just the two of us down here now”. He was eventually rescued when his wife heard his cries, but the story had stuck in the minds of many.”

Okay, enough ghost stories. The original building on the site of the pub, Newgate Prison is long gone, but its partner in justice, The Old Bailey is still just around the corner and down the street from the viaduct. Criminal trials have been going on here since the late 1500s. The current building dates to around 1900 and is properly known as the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales.

Famous trials conducted here since the 1870s, when the viaduct was built, include several Jack the Ripper suspects tried on unrelated charges. Oscar Wilde, who was tried on gross indecency and sentenced to two years, The Great Train Robbery Gang (we covered that story in our treatment of The Star Tavern). The Kray Twins (two East End lads who ran a violent gang in the 1950s and 60s). Their own story is linked to one we will cover when we talk about The Blind Beggar pub. A number of IRA bombers. The Yorkshire Ripper, a famous UK serial killer of the late 1970s who racked up 13 murder victims. And finally, Doctor Crippen, an American doctor living in London in 1910 who was convicted of killing his wife, Cora. He fled with his mistress on a ship bound for the United States and was arrested upon arrival thanks to a new cutting edge technology - radio. On my first pub crawl in London, I actually attended a trial at The Old Bailey. It was a trial of a man accused of killing his wife with a knife. The lawyers were in their wigs and it was all quite formal.

The observation gallery was high above the floor and observers were tightly controlled. No hanging around the gallery when the court takes a break. We were politely ushered into the hall. When I went to The Old Bailey. I told them that I wanted to sit in on the trial, and they were quite nice in helping me do so. It was an interesting experience. 

Besides The Old Bailey, there's another historic feature that is just outside TheViaduct Tavern. The first public drinking fountain in London is literally across the street from The Viaduct, at the southeast corner of the grounds of Saint Sepulcher Church. The website Atlas obscura.com is a good source of this bit of history, so I'll read a little bit of their right up,

“It wasn't until 1859 that free public drinking water became available. That's when the Metropolitan Drinking Foundation and Cattle Trough Association (what a name, huh?) was established in London before its inception. The private water companies monopolize the precious liquid, rarely providing enough of it, and what they did provide was rarely drinkable. Doctor John Snow in 1854 traced the cholera epidemic to what is now lovingly known as the Broad Street Cholera Pump.”

By the way, Doctor Snow got a pub named after him for his efforts. Not bad. With regulation and broad public support, the government was able to buy out the private water companies, and the first public baths and drinking fountains began popping up in Liverpool. Philanthropic citizens began to take up this cause. Philanthropist Samuel Gurney built the first fountain in London on Holborn Hill, a simple granite basin attached to the gates of Saint Sepulcher Church.

The fountain and its refreshing purpose became instantly popular, and soon 7000 people were stopping by for a drink every day. Clearly the demand was high and more fountains popped up. As many as 85 in the next six years. There was some funding by donation, but Mr. Gurney footed most of the bill. Gurney's original fountain included two cups chained for drinking.

The new drinking fountain idea took off and from there and went on to include elaborate wells designed by leading architects of the day. The original fountain was moved from the gates of the church in 1867, when the Holborn Viaduct was built, but was reinstated in 1913, where it remains to this day. You can see it when you exit the pub and cross Giltspur  Street.

If you check out the previous edition of this Pubcast, you might remember that I talked about the Fleet River that has now been made to flow totally below ground, and it's a part of the revised sewer system. But that was not the only public works project that was done to upgrade the area in the 1860s. The Fleet being a river and doing what rivers do, had established a valley.

This valley was an obstacle to the ever increasing commercial traffic. It was concluded that a viaduct or an elevated road was needed. It was completed in 1869. Wikipedia sums it up,

“The viaduct affected a more level approach on the crossing of this section of the Holborn Fleet Valley, from east to west across Farringdon Street. Previously this involved horse drawn traffic having to descend from High Holborn along Charterhouse Street to the small Holborn Bridge, crossing the River Fleet and then ascending to the other side.”

The Holborn Viaduct was one of the first modern flyovers in central London. Google maps puts the closest point of the Holborn Viaduct to TheViaduct Tavernas about a three minute walk, so I think it is a good name for the pub celebrating this early crosstown freeway. 

So now, after being refreshed at The Viaduct, let’s walk straight west on Holborn, passing the Holborn Viaduct for about 20 minutes and we'll come to our next famous Gin Palace, The Princess Louise.

Combining excerpts from Wikipedia and Bruning’s Historic Pubs book, let me read an introduction to this fine establishment, 

“Built in 1872, other than perhaps the nearby Viaduct Tavern, there isn't a finer example of a living Victorian Gin Palace in central London. Put plainly, this building is spectacular and always delights everything on the architectural and historical tick list of mirrors, mosaics, tiles and brass and separate bars split with dark mahogany. Petitions are present. With her glorious features accentuated amongst the high ceilings, island bar, marble and stained glass, you have a splendid example of a magnificent historically listed treasure, but its current splendor has not always been the case. The Princess Louise languished until a few years ago as a dingy keg only beer house half empty most of the time, its architectural splendor utterly neglected, cherished only by a handful of aficionados.”

In fact, it sank so far that in the 1970s that Watleys, the company that owned the pub at the time, actually proposed to pull it down, which actually turned out to be no bad thing in that it finally alerted the sleeping giant of public opinion to the dreadful carnage that was being wrought on London's built heritage. Far worse than anything the Luftwaffe had achieved.

The ensuing uproar was an important step in raising public awareness of the need for conservation. What eventually sold the pub and subsequent owners did a large scale renovation in 2007 that put the old girl in fine stead. It is now owned by Samuel Smith's. londonupclose.com has a page on The Princess Louise, and you can tell it was written by a real fan from the outside,

“The Princess Louise public house on High Holborn looks pleasant enough, substantial and proud, with its name in gold lettering on the background, but it is only when you step inside that you realize that you've discovered a real historic gem. The sumptuous late Victorian decor is intact in pretty much every detail. There are tiles, mirrors and glass panels, a mosaic floor, and an elaborate ceiling. There are paneled and carved mahogany partitions. The huge island bar has a marble effect, columns with golden Corinthian capitals, and a central arch made of polished dark wood topped with a clock. It's all a mad, typically Victorian mishmash of styles and materials, which nevertheless somehow all comes together to look amazing. From the street, you have a choice of two entrances opening onto the narrow corridors with colorful tile panels and friezes, mosaic floors, stuccoed ceilings and elaborate light fittings.”

The whole pub, I assume, would have originally been gas lit. It's like entering a jewel box, or particularly an opulent, stately home opening off the corridors, or a series of booths or snugs with dark wooden partitions and wonderfully etched and cut glass screens. Each of the booths has seating for about eight people and has direct access to the bar, whereas these booths were, I suppose, originally intended to separate people and protect the better off patrons from the lesser sorts, they now bring people together. There's a certain sense of shared ownership that comes from having a seat in a booth, and this makes it easy to strike up conversations. To reinforce the class difference between those drinking in the saloon and those in the tap bar, there used to be a price difference of several pennies on the beer served in each room. That is no longer the case. So sit where you'd like or where you can. 

Like any of the historic establishments that we cover in this Pubcast, these magnificent places are best viewed when they are not crowded. My pub crawl buddies and I try to plan our visits to the most special pubs early in the day, or in the lull between 2:30 and 5 p.m., when patron count seems to be at a nadir.

This is probably the only pub where the men's bathroom is a point of interest, other than for the usual reasons. Back to the words of our pub fan at londonupclose.com, 

“The Gents toilet, boasting marble urinals, also dates back to the 19th century. They are of sufficient historical and architectural interest that they have their own formal historical listing and are thus protected from modification or destruction. However, while men can relieve themselves in Victorian splendor, the women's toilets are modern and completely featureless.” 

As a fellow visitor commented, they would not be out of place in a prison where there originally no facilities for ladies. I wonder, were women's toilets in pubs? Another of the many things that the Victorians didn't approve of. 

On this podcast, we always try to say something about the origin of the pub names. CAMRA’s pub heritage site helps us there,

“Princess Louise was the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria, living from 1848 to 1939. Described by her mother as, “Difficile”, she led a racy lifestyle. There were several affairs with men from the world of art, which was Louise's other great interest. Notoriously, her mentor in sculpture, Sir Joseph Boehm, died in her arms in 1890. But Louise had talent. She sculpted a statue of Queen Victoria, which stands in the gardens of Kensington Palace. She was cremated at Golders Green Cemetery and became the first royal not to be buried.” 

So the pub was named after a lively lady. She looks very regal up there on the pub sign. I tried to find out something about famous patrons or historical stories about the pub, but not much came up. I did find that the Princess Louise is notable for having been a venue for a number of influential folk clubs, run by Ewan Maccoll.

These clubs played an important part in the British folk revival of the late 1950s and early 1960s. I had never heard of Mr. Maccoll, but from what I read he seemed to be the British equivalent of America's Pete Seeger in the folk music scene. Very prominent and influential. 

Let's now move to our final Gin Palace. And to make full disclosure, this one is not historical in terms of years as a Gin Palace. This is The Crown and Sugar Loaf on Fleet Street, at the corner of Bride Lane and just across the street and up from Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. 

Let me lay out the interesting timeline for this pub. Originally there were two separate pubs on the site, The Crown and the Sugar Loaf, sometime in the 18th century. These two pubs merged into one called The Crown and Sugar Loaf.

The ownership of the land remained, however, divided or even after the merger. In the 1840s the pub was renamed The Punch Tavern. The name came likely due to the pub's popularity with a staff from the nearby Punch Magazine in the 1890s. The pub building underwent a major reconstruction, done in two phases. First, the main part area of the pub and its Fleet Street frontage were redone in 1894/95. Then the Bride Lane frontage with a luncheon bar was done in 1896/97. Now we jump forward a century. Another renovation was initiated in the late 1990s, but negotiation and ownership issues arose due to the still divided land titles. Things got worse and a wall was built, essentially splitting the pub in two. The larger section with The Punch Tavern name reopened under a different owner. A smaller section remained closed for several years under the ownership of Samuel Smiths Brewery. It was extensively remodeled using the Gin Palace motif. It finally reopened as The Crown and Sugarloaf in 2004. Its address is on Bride Lane because the pub runs perpendicular to Fleet Street. You have only to stick your head into this pub, or look at the pictures on the website to see what a terrific job Samuel Smith did in renovating this fine establishment.

Although modern, it is a tribute to the Gin Palaces of old and deserves to be mentioned in the short list of today's best London Gin Palaces. 

So, dear listeners, that brings us to the end of another Pubcast episode - our second one featuring Gin Palaces. I hope these two episodes will inspire you to visit one or more of these fine pubs whenever you're in London.

Please check out the next Pubcast and until then, Cheers!