Two Chairmen | |
---|---|
Type | Public house |
Location | 1, WARWICK HOUSE STREET SW1 |
Coordinates | 51°30′02″N0°07′54″W / 51.5006°N 0.1317°W |
Rebuilt | 1756 |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
Official name | THE TWO CHAIRMEN PUBLIC HOUSE |
Designated | 01-Dec-1987 |
Reference no. | 1066136 |
The Two Chairmen is thought to be the oldest public house in Westminster. [1] Its pub sign, featuring two men carrying a sedan chair, can be traced back to 1729. [2] The pub is near Birdcage Walk, where James I had aviaries for exotic birds, and close to St James's Park tube station. It has been called 'The hidden gem of Dartmouth Street' by The London Evening Standard. [3] It is a Grade II listed building. [4]
The pub is located on Dartmouth Street opposite the infamous early theatre The Royal Cockpit, which was known as a cockfighting arena. [5] Rebuilt in 1756, [6] it is named after the two men who used to carry sedan chairs for wealthy patrons who frequented the pub in its early days. Apparently the sedan chair carriers would wait in the pub for fares which would appear after the cockfights had finished. [7]
In 1935, the pub was the location of the founding of the Society of Civil Service Authors. [8]
Cockfighting is a blood sport involving domesticated roosters as the combatants. The first documented use of the word gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or entertainment, was recorded in 1634, after the term "cock of the game" used by George Wilson, in the earliest known book on the sport of cockfighting in The Commendation of Cocks and Cock Fighting in 1607. But it was during Magellan's voyage of discovery of the Philippines in 1521 when modern cockfighting was first witnessed and documented for Westerners by the Italian Antonio Pigafetta, Magellan's chronicler, in the Kingdom of Taytay.
Sir John Betjeman, was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, helping to save St Pancras railway station from demolition. He began his career as a journalist and ended it as one of the most popular British Poets Laureate and a much-loved figure on British television.
Marjorie "Mo" Mowlam was a British Labour Party politician. She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Redcar from 1987 to 2001 and served in the Cabinet of Tony Blair as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
Michael John Dobbs, Baron Dobbs is a British Conservative politician and author, best known for his House of Cards trilogy.
Gospel Oak is an inner urban area of north west London in the London Borough of Camden at the very south of Hampstead Heath. The neighbourhood is positioned between Hampstead to the north-west, Dartmouth Park to the north-east, Kentish Town to the south-east, and Belsize Park to the south-west. Gospel Oak lies across the NW5 and NW3 postcodes and is served by Gospel Oak station on the London Overground.
John Thomas Alderdice, Baron Alderdice is a Northern Ireland politician. He was the Speaker and a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for East Belfast from 1998 to 2004 and 1998 to 2003, respectively. Alderdice was the leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland from 1987 to 1998, and since 1996 has sat in the House of Lords as a Liberal Democrat.
The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of people. Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the elements. Larger litters, for example those of the Chinese emperors, may resemble small rooms upon a platform borne upon the shoulders of a dozen or more people. To most efficiently carry a litter, porters either place the carrying poles directly upon their shoulders or use a yoke to transfer the load from the carrying poles to the shoulders.
The Millennium Commission, a United Kingdom public body, was set up to celebrate the turn of the millennium. It used funding raised through the UK National Lottery to assist communities in marking the close of the second millennium and celebrating the start of the third. The body was wound up in 2006.
Metro-land is a BBC documentary film written and narrated by the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Sir John Betjeman. The film was directed by Edward Mirzoeff, and first broadcast on 26 February 1973. The film celebrates suburban life in the area to the northwest of London that grew up in the early 20th century around the Metropolitan Railway (MR), later the Metropolitan line of the London Underground.
Benjamin John Whitrow was a British actor. He was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor for his role as Mr Bennet in the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, and voiced the role of Fowler in the 2000 animated film Chicken Run. His other film appearances include Quadrophenia (1979), Personal Services (1987) and Bomber (2009).
A link-boy was a boy who carried a flaming torch to light the way for pedestrians at night. Linkboys were common in London in the days before the introduction of gas lighting in the early to mid 19th century. The linkboy's fee was commonly one farthing, and the torch was often made from burning pitch and tow.
Michael Ralph "Mo" Foster was an English multi-instrumentalist, record producer, composer, solo artist, author, and public speaker. Through a career spanning over half a century, Foster toured, recorded, and performed with dozens of artists, including Jeff Beck, Gil Evans, Phil Collins, Ringo Starr, Joan Armatrading, Gerry Rafferty, Brian May, Scott Walker, Frida of ABBA, Cliff Richard, George Martin, Van Morrison, Dr John, Hank Marvin, Heaven 17 and the London Symphony Orchestra. He released several albums under his own name, authored a humorous book on the history of British rock guitar, written numerous articles for music publications, continued to compose production music, and established himself as a public speaker. Foster was an assessor for JAMES, an industry organisation that gives accreditation to music colleges throughout the United Kingdom. In 2014, Foster was a recipient of a BASCA Gold Badge Award to honour his lifelong contribution to the British songwriting and composing community.
William Legge, 10th Earl of Dartmouth, styled Viscount Lewisham from 1962 to 1997, is a British politician and hereditary peer, usually known as William Dartmouth.
Joan Jackson, née Joan Hunter Dunn was the muse of Sir John Betjeman in his poem "A Subaltern's Love-song".
Mike Southon BSC is a British cinematographer. He is a past President of the British Society of Cinematographers. As well as films, he has shot more than 250 music videos and 200 television commercials.
Jack Straw's Castle is a Grade II listed building and former public house on North End Way, Hampstead, north-west London, England close to the junction with Heath Street and Spaniards Road.
Sarah Ann Jones is a British Labour Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Croydon West, formerly Croydon Central, since 2017 and a Minister of State in the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the Department for Business and Trade since July 2024.
The statue of John Betjeman at St Pancras railway station, London is a depiction in bronze by the sculptor Martin Jennings. The statue was designed and cast in 2007 and was unveiled on 12 November 2007 by Betjeman's daughter, Candida Lycett Green and the then Poet Laureate Andrew Motion to commemorate Betjeman and mark the opening of St Pancras International as the London terminus of the Eurostar high-speed rail link between Great Britain and mainland Europe. The location memorialises the connection between St Pancras station and Betjeman, an early and lifelong advocate of Victorian architecture.
This is a list of works by or featuring David John Moore Cornwell, a British author better known by his pseudonym John le Carré. It also includes a list of film, television, and radio adaptations of le Carré's writing.
Murray Fraser is Professor of Architecture and Global Culture at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London (UCL).
mentioned in the book”Lethal White” by Robert Galbraith