St. James Tavern

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.