Spread Eagle, Wandsworth

UPDATE 2020.

A refurbishment has recently been carried and therefore the photos are out of date.

A lavish late-Victorian Young’s pub, rebuilt in 1898 during the great pub boom. It’s a landmark Flemish Renaissance-style three-storey building across the road from the former, much-lamented Young’s Brewery. Ground floor of polished granite with pilasters having decorative capitals and red brick upper storeys. The distinctive and attractive iron and glass canopy which projects from the main entrance across the street seems original. The interior gives a very good idea of what a classy late Victorian pub could look like with extensive expanses of etched glass which makes the place sparkle.

The left-hand public bar has entrance doors on the left and also double doors on the right hand side that probably led to a former off sales, in which case a partition has been lost. It retains the original bar back of three bays with large mirror panels but most of the lower bar back shelves have been lost to fridges. The panelled bar counter curved on the left hand side looks original, although unfortunately now considerably shortened. A full height timber and glazed panelled screen forms the division with the room on the right and still retains its door with ‘Public Bar’ etched and frosted panel; along the middle are etched mirror-glass panels with delicate ribbon and foliage motifs.

The room on the right is huge and probably always was a single space (it has a staircase to the toilets and hotel rooms upstairs, cf. the Warrington, Maida Vale); the modest vestibule looks modern. The bar back here is an extension of the mainly glazed partition but with mirror panels also reaching to the ceiling and a doorway for the staff to the public bar. Sadly, most of the lower bar back shelves have been lost to fridges. A door in the bar back leads to what was the original large publican's office, most of which is now an accessible toilet. At the rear there is an indentation in the full height screen with more impressive mirror panels including ones with floral and avian decoration. This small recess has a modern screen separating it from the servery, and contains a table and seating now accessed from the dining area. The panelled bar counter which is curved on the right hand side looks original.

At the rear of the room is an octagonal skylight, with plain obscured wire glass panes (the coloured stained glass with floral motifs was unfortunately lost during the 2020 refurbishment), below which is a decorative plaster frieze. On either side of the door to the former publican's office are two short screens (approx 2' x 1') with ornate mirror panels depicting flowers. A tiled, cast iron and wood surround fireplace with a real coal fire may be original.

Another full height screen with lots of etched and frosted panels having floral designs along the middle row separates the right hand room from another room at the rear left. It retains two doors both with ‘Dining Room and Lounge’ deep cut wording in them. This room is almost entirely newly fitted, the exception being the wood surround to the recess mentioned above, and is now used as a dining room.