Book: London's Real Heritage Pubs, By CAMRA

A gorgeous new book shows off ~250 of London’s best pub interiors. It’s quite the checklist.

Books about London’s pubs are common as £7 pints in the West End. But a new volume from CAMRA (the Campaign for Real Ale) will always get our attention. They know pubs better than anyone, and their new version of London’s Real Heritage Pubs is even more than you might expect.

First published in 2008, and now consummately updated, the book is the definitive guide to those pubs that have historic interior character (spoilers: All Bar One does not feature).

The Warrington Hotel in Maida Vale. Image: Neil Pettigrew

Now, we can all name some of the likely inclusions: the Princess Louise, the Lamb, the Cheshire Cheese, the Blackfriar, etc. The central area is very well stocked with such places, many are famous, and all are included here. Where the book truly comes into its own, though, is its geographic diversity.

The Eastbrook in Dagenham. Image: Geoff Brandwood

CAMRA maintains a National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors, which means they know about every pub in the country with an important interior. While most pub guides will give you a heap of central suggestions and a token smattering from the outer zones, this book is all-encompassing. You’ll find as much emphasis on the likes of Teddington, Romford, Erith, Enfield and Beckenham as you will Covent Garden and Holborn.

The Blythe Hill Tavern in Forest Hill. Image: Rex Ward

Each of the 249 entries comes with a colour photograph, as well as a solid description of the pub and its interior. Entries are graded on a three-star system, so you can see at a glance how much of the original interior survives in authentic condition. These include not only the archetypal Victorian gin palaces, but also many 20th century interiors trapped in a timewarp. Like this, for example:

The Coach and Horses in Soho. Image: Michael Slaughter

Interspersed among the individual pub entries are a series of short essays that add depth to the topic. These include an analysis of the trend for pubs to paint their interiors ‘gastro-grey’, a section on Victorian drinking habits, and mini-biographies of pub designers like Sidney C. Clarke and Thomas Henry Nowell Parr.

The Flying Horse — the only pub on Oxford Street. Image: Michael Slaughter

The Festival Inn, Poplar. Image: Michael Slaughter

The Salisbury in Harringay. Image: Rex Ward

Any ‘student of the pub’ will want this book. Not only is it a fine heritage guide to the pub interior, but it’s as robust a checklist of ‘pubs you MUST see’ as anything available.

London’s Real Heritage Pubs, edited by Neil Pettigrew and Rex Ward is available now from CAMRA and in all good bookshops.