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11-13 April 2025
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.jpg "Left Hand Room Servery. by Michael Schouten. Published on")
This is a large and imposing pub built about 1868 tucked away among the residential roads off Richmond Hill. It has a particularly impressive, Classical-style bar-back fitting which surely dates from the original build and is thus an early surviving example. The pub also offers bed & breakfast accommodation in 11 rooms. They have an 'open mic' music night on Fridays 8:30pm to midnight. Owners Pat and Mairead Dalton have run the Duke's Head pub and B&B for the last twenty seven years, and they have infused it with a blend of modern day customer service and traditional Irish charm. Restaurant open Mon to Sat from 12pm-3pm and 5pm-9.30pm. Excellent-value weekday lunches with a wide choice for just £5. Traditional Sunday roast served 12pm - 6pm. There is a small car par at the back of the pub for about 4 cars.
One star - A pub interior of special national historic interest
Listed status: Not listed
The dominant feature here is the magnificent Victorian mirrored bar-back, which is clearly original, with a terrific display of classical columns, superb detailing, gold lettering and a stunning top section with an elaborate cornice.
Built about 1868 with an extension added in 1924. The room on the left contains the servery with the Victorian bar-back, but the panelled counter is very much plainer with simple recessed panels and little console brackets. This area has been opened up, but there are still two distinct areas here; the one at the back has what looks like an inter-war brick fireplace, while the one at the front has an ornate Victorian fireplace with a plaster surround featuring cherubs and urns, which was resited here some years ago from upstairs. To the left of the servery is an entrance, which is effectively an extension of the bar-back and thus has the same eye-catching decor, leading to the saloon where the fittings are very different with what looks like an interwar counter with rounded corners and doors which used to be for servicing beer engines, and another inter-war fireplace. The walls throughout have narrow upright timbers to two-thirds height which are hard to date but look inter-war.
Built about 1868 as Richmond was spreading over the spaces on Richmond Hill, this pub has a prominent position on a street corner, with a three-storey main block and a smaller, two-storey one on the right. An extension was added to the rear in 1924. The stand-out feature is a remarkably florid, mirrored bar-back, no doubt dating from the building of the pub. It has three faces within the L-shaped servery and a terrific display of classical columns and an entablature which has an elaborate cornice sitting on little modillions (that is, the rows of small square blocks on the underside). The panelled counter is very much plainer with simple recessed panels and little console brackets. On the right-hand side was a saloon and here the fittings are very different with what looks like an interwar counter with rounded corners (it has a couple of (now sealed) doors for servicing beer engines). In fact it seems that there was probably more work done at the time, notably the installation of two brick fire surrounds, one on each side of the pub. It’s hard to date the wall treatment with its applied upright timbers. The ornate Victorian fireplace on the left-hand side has, it seems, plaster decoration, and was resited here some years ago from upstairs. There has been quite a bit of opening up, especially on the left-hand side. There was formerly a function room upstairs and between 1985 and 1995 this operated as a small theatre for experimental productions: the upstairs parts were then colonised by the present 11-bedroom B&B accommodation. Hopefully you will not find the large expanses of magenta paint overpowering!
This Pub serves 1 changing beer and 2 regular beers.
Dukes Head, Richmond
Changing beers typically include: Twickenham - The Naked Ladies
Sports TV
Lunchtime Meals
Evening Meals
Family Friendly
Parking
Accommodation
Function Room
Wi Fi
Real Ale
Real Heritage Pub
Cask Marque
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.jpg "Right Hand Room Servery. by Michael Schouten. Published on")