THE WELLINGTON

THE WELLINGTON - A LITERARY LONDON PUB

Yesterday (Tuesday 23rd August 2022) I was early for a 2pm trip to Edvard Munch, Masterpieces from Bergen exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery and I needed a pee. The Wellington, a touristic pub (due to its location), was nearby so I popped in.

The pub is named after the Duke of Wellington (Arthur Wellesley) who defeated Napoleon in 1815, ending the Napoleonic Wars. Books on the Duke of Wellington include: Wellington: The Iron Duke by?Richard Holmes. Young Bloods: Wellington and Napoleon by?Simon Scarrow,?Jonathan Keeble, et al. Wellington: A Personal History by?Christopher Hibbert. Wellington: The Path to Victory 1769-1814 by?Rory Muir.

The current building dates from 1903. On the neo-gothic exterior, this Nicholson's branded Mitchells & Butlers pub was advertising dining upstairs. I didn’t get upstairs but apparently there is a ‘plush’ restaurant. I went straight down dark wooden stairs. Outside the gents, on the way out, I admired the black and white tiled floor and pictures of Wellington on the walls. The interior of the main part of the pub is split-level and narrow with a dark wood bar and dark wood furniture, I expect it gets packed at peak times. Post lunch, more people were drinking outside than in - there is a seating area in Wellington Street near the Lyceum Theatre. At one time, Bram Stoker was the business manager for the Lyceum - no The Lion King in his day!

Charles Dickens, G.W.M. Reynolds, and Henry Mayhew had offices on Wellington Street in the mid-nineteenth-century as discussed in Dickens, Reynolds and Mayhew on Wellington Street by?Mary L. Shannon.

Words for the Wounded was a charity run by three writing grannies: Margaret Graham, Penny Deacon and Jan Speedie. They liked to meet, drink and dine here. Margaret Graham praises the Wellington in the Frost Magazine suggesting: ‘Just head to the Wellie’. Margaret even had her book launches here, with staff from Random House.

Kristine Hughes also ‘often stopped … for refreshment at The Wellington.’

The Wellington, 351 Strand, WC2R 0HS

If you liked this article,?there are other London literary pubs listed here.