The Old Queens Head

Last updated

The Old Queen's Head Public House
The Old Queens Head Angel April 2021.jpg
The Old Queen's Head Public House
Location44 Essex Road, Islington, London N1
Coordinates 51°32′14″N0°06′02″W / 51.5373°N 0.100447°W / 51.5373; -0.100447
AreaLondon Borough of Islington
Builtc.1830, but with early 17th-century interior
Architectural style(s)brick and stucco public house
Listed Building – Grade II
Designated20 September 1954
Reference no.1195587

The Old Queen's Head is a pub on Essex Road in Islington, London N1. Its shopfront is scheduled as "to be retained" by Islington Council. Since 2006 The Old Queens Head has been a part of The Columbo Group, owned by Steve Ball and Riz Shaikh. [1] It is a Grade II listed building. [2]

Contents

Listed building

The Old Queen's Head is a public house dating to about 1830; the pub front on the ground floor dates to about 1900. The interior contains some early 17th-century features from an earlier building on the site. [2]

The three storey building is of Flemish bond yellow brick with a stucco cornice; a stepped parapet hides the pitched roof. There is a range of three windows facing Essex Road and three to Queen's Head Street; one window faces the corner, which is curved. [2]

There is an early 17th-century moulded plaster ceiling inside the pub. The ceiling is decorated with ornamental bands around panels that contain emblems. There is a wood and stone chimneypiece of the same age. Figures on either side of the stone hearth support an entablature bearing two carved scenes. The upper part of the chimneypiece is similarly decorated, ending in a frieze and cornice. [2]

History

The original public house until 1829 OldQueen'sHead.jpg
The original public house until 1829

The previous pub on the site was demolished in 1829. It was described by Walter Thornbury, writing in the 1870s, as

a strong wood and plaister building of three lofty storeys, projecting over each other in front, and forming bay windows, supported by brackets and carved figures. The centre, which projected several feet beyond the other part of the building, and formed a commodious porch, to which there was a descent of several steps, was supported in front by caryatides of carved oak, standing on either side of the entrance, and crowned with Ionic scrolls. [3]

Thornbury describes the interior with the surviving fireplace in detail:

The interior of the house was constructed in a similar manner to that of most of the old buildings in the parish, having oak-panelled wainscots and stuccoed ceilings. The principal room was the parlour already alluded to, the ceiling of which was ornamented with dolphins, cherubs, acorns, &c., surrounded by a wreathed border of fruit and foliage, and had, near the centre, a medallion, of a character apparently Roman, crowned with bays, and a small shield containing the initials I. M. surrounded by cherubim and glory. The chimneypiece was supported by two figures carved in stone, hung with festoons, &c., and the stone slab, immediately over the fireplace, exhibited the stories of Danae and Actaeon in relief, with mutilated figures of Venus, Bacchus, and Plenty. [3]

Ghosts and legends

According to Absolute Publishing's London Visitor Guide, an unattributed rumour is that The Old Queen's Head is haunted like many London pubs, supposedly by both a woman and a girl in Tudor clothes. [4] [ unreliable source? ] [5] [ unreliable source? ]

Thornbury, writing in 1878, also mentions the pub's alleged connection with Sir Walter Raleigh, though he denied its validity: [3]

Tradition had long connected this house with the name of Sir Walter Raleigh, though with no sufficient reason. In the thirtieth year of Elizabeth, Sir Walter obtained a patent to make licences for keeping of taverns and retailing of wines throughout England. This house may be one of those to which Raleigh granted licences, and the sign then marked the reign in which it was granted. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Essex Road</span> Street in the London Borough of Islington

Essex Road is a main road in Islington, London. It is part of the A104 and connects Islington High Street with Balls Pond Road via Essex Road railway station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tower House</span> Late-Victorian townhouse in London, England

The Tower House, 29 Melbury Road, is a late-Victorian townhouse in the Holland Park district of Kensington and Chelsea, London, built by the architect and designer William Burges as his home. Designed between 1875 and 1881, in the French Gothic Revival style, it was described by the architectural historian J. Mordaunt Crook as "the most complete example of a medieval secular interior produced by the Gothic Revival, and the last". The house is built of red brick, with Bath stone dressings and green roof slates from Cumbria, and has a distinctive cylindrical tower and conical roof. The ground floor contains a drawing room, a dining room and a library, while the first floor has two bedrooms and an armoury. Its exterior and the interior echo elements of Burges's earlier work, particularly Park House in Cardiff and Castell Coch. It was designated a Grade I listed building in 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Michael Palace</span> Palace in St. Petersburg

The New Michael Palace was the third Saint Petersburg palace designed by Andrei Stackenschneider for Nicholas I's children. It was built between 1857 and 1862 on the Palace Embankment, between the Hermitage Museum buildings and the Marble Palace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fireplace mantel</span> Framework around a fireplace

The fireplace mantel or mantelpiece, also known as a chimneypiece, originated in medieval times as a hood that projected over a fire grate to catch the smoke. The term has evolved to include the decorative framework around the fireplace, and can include elaborate designs extending to the ceiling. Mantelpiece is now the general term for the jambs, mantel shelf, and external accessories of a fireplace. For many centuries, the chimneypiece was the most ornamental and most artistic feature of a room, but as fireplaces have become smaller, and modern methods of heating have been introduced, its artistic as well as its practical significance has lessened.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art collections of Holkham Hall</span>

The art collection of Holkham Hall in Norfolk, England, remains very largely that which the original owner intended the house to display; the house was designed around the art collection acquired by Thomas Coke, 1st Earl of Leicester, during his Grand Tour of Italy during 1712–18. To complete the scheme it was necessary to send Matthew Brettingham the younger to Rome between 1747 and 1754 to purchase further works of art.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerard Crane House</span> Historic house in New York, United States

The Gerard Crane House is a private home located on Somerstown Turnpike opposite Old Croton Falls Road in Somers, New York, United States. It is a stone house dating to the mid-19th century, built by an early circus entrepreneur in his later years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Merchant House</span> Historic house in New York, United States

The Walter Merchant House, on Washington Avenue in Albany, New York, United States, is a brick-and-stone townhouse in the Italianate architectural style, with some Renaissance Revival elements. Built in the mid-19th century, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">King and Queen, Brighton</span> Pub in Brighton, England

The King and Queen is a pub in the seaside resort of Brighton, part of the city of Brighton and Hove. The present building, a "striking" architectural "pantomime" by the prolific local firm Clayton & Black, dates from the 1930s, but a pub of this name has stood on the site since 1860—making it one of the first developments beyond the boundaries of the ancient village. This 18th-century pub was, in turn, converted from a former farmhouse. Built using materials characteristic of 16th-century Vernacular architecture, the pub is in the Mock Tudor style and has a wide range of extravagant decorative features inside and outside—contrasting with the simple design of the neighbouring offices at 20–22 Marlborough Place, designed a year later. English Heritage has listed the pub at Grade II for its architectural and historical importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Albert</span> Pub in Victoria, London

The Albert is a Grade II listed pub located at 52 Victoria Street in Victoria, London, about 0.4 miles (0.64 km) southwest of Westminster Abbey. Built in 1862 by the Artillery Brewery, the pub retains its striking façade and Victorian features that were undamaged during The Blitz in World War II. The Albert was named in tribute to Queen Victoria's husband, Albert, Prince Consort.

Gaulden Manor is a Grade II* listed country house to the southeast of Tolland, Somerset, England. It is a double storied building with interior plasterwork, as well as a garden consisting of herbs, old roses and a pond. A room referred to as a chapel has a c.1640 ceiling featuring an angel with trumpet on Judgment Day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Lion, Fulham</span> Pub in Fulham, London

The Golden Lion is a pub in Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, London, England. It is located on Fulham High Street, to the east of Fulham Palace Gardens. Built in 1455 it is reported as the oldest pub in Fulham and was rebuilt by one of its Victorian owners. Notable patrons include the playwrights Shakespeare and Fletcher as well as Bishop Bonner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Flask, Hampstead</span> Pub in Hampstead, London

The Flask is a Grade II listed public house at 14 Flask Walk, Hampstead, London, on the site from where the trade in Hampstead mineral water was run, and which is mentioned in the eighteenth century novel Clarissa. It has been owned by Young's Brewery since 1904.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spring Hall</span> Mansion in West Yorkshire, England

Spring Hall, also known as Spring Hall Mansions, is a mansion situated off the Huddersfield Road, Halifax, West Yorkshire. A house had been built on the site by 1614, but it was demolished in 1870 leaving only the cellars. It was rebuilt in Gothic Revival style and completed in 1871 to a larger ground plan by architects James Mallinson and William Swinden Barber for Tom Holdsworth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Tabard, Chiswick</span> Pub in Chiswick, London

The block of three buildings containing The Tabard public house is a Grade II* listed structure in Chiswick, London. The block, with a row of seven gables in its roof, was designed by Norman Shaw in 1880 as part of the community focus of the Bedford Park garden suburb. The block contains the Bedford Park Stores, once a co-operative, and a house for the manager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Register House</span> Historic site in Princes Street, Edinburgh

General Register House is an Adam style neoclassical building on Princes Street, Edinburgh, purpose built by Robert Adam between 1774 and 1788 as the headquarters of the National Archives of Scotland. It is a Category A listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riverbend (estate)</span> Historic house in Wisconsin, United States

The Kohler Riverbend Estate is an historic property located in Kohler, Wisconsin. It was built in 1922–1923 by Walter J. Kohler, Sr., then governor of Wisconsin and president of the Kohler Company. It was reported to cost in excess of $1,000,000 to construct.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atkinson Art Gallery and Library</span> Historic site in Merseyside, England

The Atkinson is a building on the east side of Lord Street extending round the corner into Eastbank Street, Southport, Sefton, Merseyside, England. The building is a combination of two former buildings, the original Atkinson Art Gallery and Library that opened in 1878, and the adjacent Manchester and Liverpool District Bank that was built in 1879. These were combined in 1923–24 and the interiors have been integrated. The original building is in Neoclassical style, and the former bank is in Renaissance style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Defence Main Building</span> Government office in London, England

The Ministry of Defence Main Building or MOD Main Building, also known as MOD Whitehall or originally as the Whitehall Gardens Building, is a grade I listed government office building located on Whitehall in London. The building was designed by E. Vincent Harris in 1915 and constructed between 1939 and 1959 on part of the site of the Palace of Whitehall, specifically Pelham House, Cromwell House, Montagu House, Pembroke House and part of Whitehall Gardens. It was initially occupied by the Air Ministry and the Board of Trade before becoming the current home of the Ministry of Defence in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canonbury House and Canonbury Tower</span> Historical buildings in Islington, London, now partially demolished

Canonbury House is the name given to several buildings in the Canonbury area of Islington, North London which once formed the manor house of Canonbury, erected for the Canons of St Bartholomew's Priory between 1509 and 1532. The remains today consist of Canonbury Tower and several buildings from the 1790s, some of which incorporate parts of the late 16th-century manor house. Today, the Tower and the other buildings, including a 1790s building today also named "Canonbury House", are arranged around the road named Canonbury Place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cromwell House</span> Grade I Listed house

Cromwell House is a Grade I listed building built in 1638 in Highgate Village, now a suburb of London. It is currently owned by the Republic of Ghana and used as its visa section.

References

  1. "Schedule 3.1: Shopfronts to be retained". Conservation Area Three: Duncan Terrace/Colebrooke Row (PDF). London Borough of Islington. p. 6. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Historic England. "The Old Queen's Head Public House (Grade II) (1195587)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 2 October 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Thornbury 1878, p. 260
  4. "London Visitor Guide". Arts, Entertainment & Listings. Absolute Publishing. Autumn 2008. p. 29. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  5. Swift, Tamara (September 2005). "Ghosts of Albion". 44 Essex Road (Islington). BBC Online . Retrieved 3 October 2012.

Bibliography