Kings Head, London

A delightful corner pub in the heart of Marylebone with many original fittings to savour.

This welcoming pub was rebuilt by Charringtons in 1939.The ground floor originally consisted of two small bars, but a major part of the glazed partition dividing them has been removed at some point.  You can clearly see where it formerly joined the bar counter: note the small missing section of the tiling around the base. There is a promontory servery, with the elegant original counter mounted on a substantial tiled plinth, with a decorative tiled border. The room retains its dado panelling. It looks as though there was an entrance to the servery near where the dividing partition was situated - there is a gap in the tiled plinth here.

On the left hand side, at the end of the servery, is an office area, shielded by two glazed baffles placed on the counter either side of an entryway. Above the opening stretches a beam bearing a relief of a king’s head flanked with winged dragons. Originally, this area could be accessed from the opposite side of the pub, but the opening here has been filled in.

The excellent and understated full height bar-back with reeded glazing includes glass shelves typical of the 1960s; it incorporates a dumb waiter at the outer end. A door on the left with ‘Lounge Bar’ announced in gold lettering on a frosted panel leads via a stairway to a first floor bar. This has dado panelling and a servery in a corner. The counter with horizontal boarding is not easy to date; the rudimentary bar-back contains mirrored panels.

The ground floor Gents has much original tiling, and the excellent lampshades in the main bar may well be original.