Hare & Hounds

A plain, buff brick, three-storeyed Georgian inn standing proudly on the road leading from London out to Richmond and the oldest building in the area. It has been substantially modified over the years and this includes a thorough reworking of the interior in the 1930s. The parts on the right-hand side have been transformed by opening up in the last few decades but there is still a good deal of quality work left from the 1930s. The reason for inclusion here is the rather remarkable survival of the small public bar on the left-hand side. It is entered either by a side door from the carriage entrance on the left or through a screen immediately on the left of the main front entrance. The oak fittings are typical of the restrained work of the 1930s, such as the elegantly boarded counter and simply detailed, rectilinear bar-back (the designs recur in the right-hand room). The lounge bar (right) and extensive garden are more what one would expect in affluent East Sheen.