Queens, London

This handsome 3 storey neo Classical edifice was built c1854 as the Queens Hotel. It adroitly turns the corner between St Georges Terrace, facing Primrose Hill, and the elegantly curved shopping street of Regents Park Road. The ground floor facing the hill is apsed and at one time was adorned with a statue of Shakespeare.

There were originally three entrances on Regents Park Road but the central one has been replaced by a window. The left hand entrance has a semi vestibule – perhaps it was formerly fitted with a curtain? The ground floor is tiled, but naturally they have been painted over. Even the Charrington's Toby Jug logos have not been spared.

The public bar was originally on the right – the saloon to the left. Perhaps a private bar between them? The interior is now a single space, and the servery faces you as you enter. A striking feature of the section to the right is that two of the walls are mirrored. This appears to be old work. However, the woodwork has been painted, which spoils the effect. Interestingly, there is a disused doorway in the corner.

The counter could possibly be Victorian – unfortunately, it has been painted. The mirrored barback to the right looks interwar; that to its left is modern. Behind the servery, a flight of stairs ascends to the room above. The far left hand end of the pub is raised and acts as a snug. Here Kingsley Amis and his friends used to hold court.

Adjacent to the left hand entrance is a second staircase. Since this was the saloon bar, it ascends in an attractive timber housing, and above the stairs is an elaborately framed mirror built into the fabric. The room upstairs is a single space. There are etched windows bearing the legends “Billiard Room“ and “Pool Pyramids“ - this last is very unusual (they were an early form of pocket billiards).

The windows on the ground floor possess some excellent stained glass, largely in the transom windows but also in some of the main ones. There is a good Victorian cast iron fireplace in the former saloon.