DRUIDS HEAD
DRUIDS HEAD - A LITERARY LONDON PUB
On Monday, Jim?and I (Henry) walked in a loop from Kingston upon Thames, through Bushy Park, around Hampton Court Palace and along the River Thames back to Kingston. At the end of our walk, we searched out this hostelry for refreshment.
The?Druids Head?is in a Grade II* listed?building, built in the 17th and early 18th centuries. It is the only pub left in Market Place, central Kingston, and is run by Greene King.
Rather than retaining period details inside it is modern and comfortable. Jim had a pint of Twickenham Autumn Red and I had a pint of Black Sheep. We sat beside a window overlooking the square; blinking fairy lights around the window-frame distracted me from a pleasant gaze upon the passers-by.
It should come as no surprise that a pub named Druids Head can cater for the esoteric: The Cornerstone Church studied the Bible here and prayed that God would open doors for the gospel in Kingston. Serum had its first discussion meeting focused on spirituality. And, Non-duality (Kingston) have met up here.
However, the Druids Head being notable as one of the first taverns to make the dessert?syllabub?(back in the 18th century) is a surprise. Shame syllabub is no longer on the pub menu!
Of literary interest: There is controversy surrounding the pub’s name. Brian Gaff on the Apostrophe Police Rogues’ Gallery asks: ‘The Druids head, should it have an apostrophe or not?’ Karloff comments, in beer in the evening: ‘And while I'm being a grumpy old man, why is the name of this pub spelled (in at least 4 places, including the frontage and the sign) with no apostrophe? I'm all for quirky pub names, but is this plain lazy grammar?’
Sarah Marshall’s PhD submission ‘At Home Abroad: An exploration into the genres of expatriate literature' (Jan 2019) includes: ‘Stephanie returned from her travels in time for her twenty-first birthday party in the middle of February, which started with Jager bombs at the Druids Head, a pub off the ancient marketplace.’
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BookCrossing meet at the pub.
But this pub’s top literary credential is that Jerome K. Jerome wrote some of his novel Three Men in a Boat here. The boat journey starts in Kingston:
From Chapter VI: 'I mused on Kingston, or "Kyningestun," as it was once called in the days when Saxon "kinges" were crowned there. Great Caesar crossed the river there, and the Roman legions camped upon its sloping uplands. Caesar, like, in later years, Elizabeth, seems to have stopped everywhere: only he was more respectable than good Queen Bess; he didn't put up at the public-houses. She was nuts on public-houses, was England's Virgin Queen. There's scarcely a pub of any attractions within ten miles of London that she does not seem to have looked in at, or stopped at, or slept at, some time or other.'
Wikipedia: Druids Head
If you liked this article,?there are other London literary pubs listed here.
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2 年Druids Head | https://londonist.com/london/pubs/druid-s-head
Author, Editor, Professor, and Director of Publications
3 年Very funny book.
Author and Historian. 2021 recipient of the Victorian Military Society's Howard Browne Medal. No cryptocurrency or sugar daddy connection requests.
3 年Three Men in a Boat has been a favourite of mine for a long time, Henry Bewley. It was introduced to me by my father when I was 19 or 20. I remember him howling with laughter at the antics of the boaters in trying to extract pineapple from a tin without an opener. Of course, the book is far more than a laugh out loud comedy. I've had Three Men on the Bummel on my shelves for a long time and still not read it. Perhaps it's time. As for all of the interesting pubs you write about, the only question is whether my constitution will be able to stand up to all the new ones I need to visit when I'm next in London.