Washington, London

The Washington has some spectacular Victorian features, including some beautiful back-painted mirrors and the awesome glazed screening above the servery.

The Washington is a prominent corner-site pub built c1865 for the Belsize Park developer Daniel Tidey. The dominant feature outside is the bold first-floor windows with their alternating segmented and triangular heads. The interior, although  pulled around somewhat in modern times, still retains a great deal of interesting Victorian work, probably from a refitting in around 1890.

The building was a pub-cum-hotel and the lobby off Belsize Park Gardens has a floor mosaic proclaiming ‘Washington Hotel’ with the added temptation of ‘Billiards’ (ornamental door glass advertises ‘Hotel’ and ‘Bar’). The first American president’s bust appears in tiling in a curious juxtaposition with some languid classical ladies. The name ‘W Holman’ here no doubt identifies the proprietor who redeveloped the place. The peninsular servery is placed in the middle of the pub, and to its right are three bays of a full-height timber and glass partition. At the front of the servery, the junction of two different designs of counter fronts indicates where a partition has been removed. This would have separated the public bar to the right from the saloon.

At the rear of the left hand side is a fine wood surround fireplace incorporating two elegant ornamental mirrors and a clock. To its left two large back painted mirrors displaying images of herons; on the other side a series of mirrors featuring assorted flora. Decor of this sort seems to have been popular with late-Victorian pub owners. The most extraordinary thing at the Washington though is the high screen set above and forward from the left hand side of the servery, in the centre of which is what would undoubtedly have been a waiter's position and is now an opening for staff. It has glazing in its top parts and most of the arcading survives.