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Heritage Pub

Southampton Arms, London

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Operator: Independent
139 Highgate Road, Kentish Town, London, NW5 1LE (View on Google Map)

Small boozer with a fire and pew style seating, a long thin bar which leads to a small garden at the rear. The ale selection is constantly changing and comes from small independent breweries across the UK.

In Sept 2024 the number of cask beers on handpump was 7, they are usually helpfully ordered palest on the left, darkest on the right. And the number of real ciders, from producers such as Luke's and Turners is now 6. 8 lines have been fitted for keg beers.

The pub won the Greater London Cider Pub of the Year Award 2010 after earlier winning the Branch Award. After being the Branch Pub of the Year in 2011 it then went on to be crowned the 2011 London Regional Pub of the Year. In 2024 it once again was voted Branch Pub of the Year. For 2017 and again in 2019, 2022 and 2023 it was the North London Cider Pub of the Year.

On the food front no gastro, just good bar snacks, pork pies, sausage rolls, scotch eggs, roast pork in baps plus veggie options. The music is played on vinyl which is great, there is also live piano music on Sundays and Tuesdays and Wednesdays. No tea, no coffee but a bloody mary kit is behind the bar. Pub stays open to midnight most days. Pub quiz Monday. Nearest transport options - Kentish Town or Gospel Oak.

Information for this venue is provided by the North London Branch of CAMRA
Previous Names
Local Authority
Camden
Last updated
11/09/2024
Last surveyed
10/09/2024
Pub ID
NLD/6089
Asset of Community Value

One star - A pub interior of special national historic interest

Listed status: Not listed

A beloved Kentish Town gem with a great deal to relish within.

This two storey pub of London brick, built in the 1830s, was formerly owned by Camden Brewery and (from 1923) Courage. It is a small pub reminiscent of an old ale house, although opened up to become a single space. There are two doors to the street but that on the right is no longer in use. The left-hand door leads to an inner door which is designated ‘Saloon’ in the stained glass, and there’s attractive mosaic tiling in the porch. Inside the inner door is attached the number ‘1’, which reflects the requirement from licensing magistrates to number each section of a pub, a system which was in use until the 1950s.

Markings on the floor suggest a diagonally placed partition has been removed to create a single space, losing what would have once been a small public bar at the front right. On the left was the larger saloon extending  to a door to the garden at the back.The servery is on the right with an old panelled counter on a moulded plinth. The bar-back is rudimentary in the extreme, with a single shelf on decorative brackets, backed by white tiling with a frame of brown tiles; much of the shelving beneath survives. At the far end of the servery is a full height partition (painted cream) with glazing at the top, which conceals stairs to the cellar and to private quarters.

To the right in what would have been the public bar the dado has tongue and groove panelling.  The fireplace on the left hand side has a hefty metal surround and decorative tiling to its interior. At the rear on the left, floor tiling indicates that there was once a fireplace here. There are attractive old pub mirrors, including one for the deceased Yarmouth brewery Lacons. Finally, the Gents can be found outside - rare these days for a London pub.

General information about historic pub interiors

Three-storey building of London brick built 1938 that has been owned by Camden Brewery & Courage in the past. This is a small pub reminiscent of an old ale house, although opened up to become a one-room pub. There are two doors to the street and the left-hand door is in use, leading to an inner door which is marked ‘saloon’ in stained glass. There is attractive mosaic tiling in the porch. Inside the door is attached the number ‘1’, which reflects the requirement from licensing magistrates to number each section of a pub, a system which was in use until the 1950s.

Markings on the floor suggest a diagonally placed partition has been removed to create the single space, losing what would have been a small public bar on the front right and more generous saloon from the left hand door going back to the rear. There are attractive old pub mirrors, including one for Lacons ales, and pew-style seating. The long thin bar leads to a small garden at the rear.

The pub has old dado railing on walls to about one-third height. In the salon area on the left beneath the dado is stained or lacquered textured wallcovering. To the right in what would have been the public bar there is old tongue and groove wood panelling below the dado. The large centre window between the two doors has plain old wood panelling beneath. The fireplace on the left side has a hefty metal surround and glazed decorative tiling on its interior as well as on the fireplace hood. The flooring around the hearth is plain tiling. The fireplace is in Victorian style but may be a reproduction dating from an inter-war refurbishment.

The bar itself is solid wood and the counter appears intact possibly from the inter-war years. The bar back consists of intact lower shelving and is backed by white tiling with a frame of brown tiles, which are typical of inter-war interior refreshments, but no upper structure. There is a floor to ceiling screen at the rear also of wood, which creates a space for access to the ladies’ toilets and to private space. The gents’ is outside and still features porcelain urinal.
 

General information about historic pub interiors
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Opening
Monday
Noon - 11:00pm
Tuesday
Noon - 11:00pm
Wednesday
Noon - 11:00pm
Thursday
Noon - 11:00pm
Friday
Noon - Midnight
Saturday
Noon - Midnight
Sunday
Noon - 10:30pm
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Current beers

This Pub serves 7 changing beers and 0 regular beers.

Regular and recently seen

Southampton Arms, London

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Facilities
Lunchtime Meals Lunchtime Meals
Evening Meals Evening Meals
Live Music Live Music
Live piano music on Sundays 6pm, Tuesdays and Wednesdays 8pm
Garden Garden
Real Fire Real Fire
Smoking Smoking
Features
Real Ale Real Ale
Real Cider Real Cider
Sept 2024 - up to 6 available such as Turners, Luke's and others regualrly changing
Real Heritage Pub Real Heritage Pub
Transport
Close to bus routes (10m)
TfL: 214, 88
Nearby Station (850m)
Kentish Town
Close to London Underground/Overground/DLR (400m)
Gospel Oak
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Nearby

Published on 02-11-2014
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Real Ale Available
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Real Ale Available
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Pub
Real Ale Available
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Real Ale Available
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