St. James Tavern

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Greater London Central - London

One star - A pub interior of special national historic interest

Listed Status: Not listed

45 Great Windmill Street
London, Soho
W1D 7NE

Tel: (020) 7437 5009

Email: stjamestavern.piccadilly@stonegatepubs.com

Website https://www.bestcitypubs.co.uk/stjamestavern

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/108501365878830

Real Ale: Yes

Lunchtime Meals: Yes

Evening Meals: Yes

Nearby Station: London Charing Cross

Station Distance: 700m

Public Transport: Near Railway Station (London Charing Cross) and Bus Stop

Bus: Yes

View on: Whatpub

The star turn in this pub is the set of superb Doulton tiled panels featuring scenes from the works of Shakespeare.

Rebuilt in 1896/7 to designs by architect W.M. Brutton, this magnificent four-storey corner-site pub with its red brick facings and intricate detailing makes the adjoining buildings look quite ordinary. The outstanding interior feature is a splendid set of tiled paintings - four Doulton's of Lambeth tiled panels with Shakespearean scenes and two others depicting hops and a vine. An error seems to have been introduced into one of the former: the words quoted from 'Henry IV Part 2' are not spoken by Bardolph but by Silence (one of the justices). 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' is represented by a suitably corpulent Falstaff sporting a set of antlers. A dashing Prince Henry addresses Falstaff in the third scene, from 'Henry IV Part 1. In the fourth, the court jester Touchstone woos the goat-girl Audrey from 'As You Like It'; interestingly, apart from exchanging stripy apparel for a red outfit, the figure is the same as the jester at the Feuars Arms, Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland.

Rebuilt 1896/7 to designs by architect W.M. Brutton.

It has a splendid set of tiled paintings - four Doulton's of Lambeth tiled panels with Shakespearean scenes and two others depicting hops and a vine. An error seems to have been introduced into one of the former: the words quoted from 'Henry IV Part 2' are not spoken by Bardolph but by Silence (one of the justices). 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' is represented by a suitably corpulent Falstaff sporting a set of antlers. A dashing Prince Henry addresses Falstaff in the third scene, from 'Henry IV Part 1. In the fourth, the court jester Touchstone woos the goat-girl Audrey from 'As You Like It': interestingly, apart from exchanging stripy apparel for a red outfit, the figure is the same as the jester at the Feuars Arms, Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland.

Other magnificent displays of tiled paintings can be found at Café Royal, Edinburgh, Scotland; Mountain Daisy, Sunderland, Tyne & Wear; General Havelock, Hastings, East Sussex; Central Bar, Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland; Rose Villa Tavern, Hockley, Birmingham; Dolphin, Hackney, London E8; and Golden Cross, Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales.

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