THE HERCULES
THE HERCULES - A LITERARY LONDON PUB
The Hercules used to be one of London's lost pubs. I frequented the building a couple of times when it was the Hikari Sushi and Noodle Bar. The Hercules reopened as a ‘new’ Fullers pub on 7 March 2019. The pub’s website says: ‘Kennington?Road's newest pub?The Hercules is?bringing tradition?back into London's?South Bank.?
As I was early for meeting friends at The Pineapple I popped into the Hercules. There is a lot of wood inside, both floor and features. The friendly barman served me soda water with 'ice and a slice' of lime. I took my drink outside and sat at a table with an umbrella and a view of Lambeth North tube station.
The pub is named after the circus strongman Hercules, so there is a circus theme throughout. The strongman was named after the Hercules, in classical Mythology, who was famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. Robert Graves reimagined Jason and the Argonauts in his novel Hercules My Shipmate.
Tracy Chevalier’s Burning Bright, is set around Hercules Road at the time of William Blake. The Hercules is mentioned. William Blake?lived in 13 Hercules Buildings marked with a blue plaque. There are Blake?inspired mosaics in a tunnel nearby.
If you liked this article,?there are other London literary pubs listed here.