Historic Dalston pub with much of interest to admire.

This two-storey brick built pub dates from the early 1820s, and retains a fair number of historic fittings. The back room was the site of London’s first modern pub theatre, established in 1967 - the Sugawn Theatre. 

There is an island servery, but the pub has lost most of the partitions which would once have divided the space.  However, there is an elegant full height timber and glass screen which strides across the centre of the pub, with an archway over the servery and openings on either side. The woodwork now sports an odd mottled finish, regrettably. A robust Victorian panelled counter, with rounded corners, is still extant.

The side doorway on Culford Road leads into a vestibule with ‘Duke of Wellington’ inscribed in the mosaic floor. On the Balls Pond Road side a former vestibule replete with much etched glazing is now a seating area; it also bears the pub’s name in mosaic tiling. The corner door with 'Public Bar' shown in its etched glazing is no longer in use. The dado in the front part of the pub has original matchboard panelling and there’s an attractive wood surround and tiled fireplace at the rear. A short corridor leads to a large rear room - this part was constructed well after the main pub opened.