In the
comments section of my post about the
Beer Drinkers Guild Awards Dinner, I mentioned
briefly that I called in at a couple of
National Inventory Heritage pubs. This
was on my way to the event, which took place in the sumptuous surroundings of
One Great George Street, just along from
Parliament Square.
Having
looked online, I discovered there were two
Heritage pubs in close proximity to
the venue. With this in mind, I took the decision to take an earlier train up
to
London, to allow time for a brief visit to both. What I hadn’t bargained for
was both pubs being full to the gunwales but, as the saying goes, nothing
ventured, nothing gained.
The first of
these two pubs was the Red Lion, a Fuller’s tied house, situated at the far end
of Whitehall, where the road merges into Parliament Street. It is a tall building occupying a
corner site and was rebuilt in its current style at the end of the 19th
Century. As might be expected from a building of this age, the Red Lion has
plenty of etched and polished glass, along with equal amounts of carved and
molded mahogany.
I wasn’t
really able to see much of these ornate surroundings, given the amount of
people present, as it really was a case of standing room only. I also thought
should I have even been there, given the crowded nature of the pub, and a new
variant of Covid-19 on the loose. Having
received my booster vaccination shot, three weeks’ previously, I dismissed
these concerns, as on the plus side it was good to see a pub so busy, once
again, but if I’m honest the crowded situation didn’t make for a pleasant
drinking experience.
I managed
to wedge myself in next to the bar counter and right in front of the pumps, but
I was disappointed to see no ESB on sale. Instead, I tried a half of Jack
Frost, which is one of Fuller’s seasonal offerings, but has never ranked as one
of my favourites. Brewed to a
strength of 4.5%, using dark malts, plus a dash of blackberries, the beer was
pleasant enough, but wasn’t really what I was expecting. 
The barmaid was
friendly and quite chatty, despite being busy, but annoyingly payment was card
only. It was time to move on, and the second pub was only a short hop away. The St
Stephen’s Tavern turned out to be another cashless pub, as well as another
corner one. It was also equally crowded. Situated directly opposite the Houses of
Parliament, St Stephen’s Tavern is reported to have a Division Bell, which can
be used to summon MP’s back to the House, if an important vote is due to take
place.
Another
unusual feature is the pub is owned by Dorset brewers, Hall & Woodhouse,
who bought, restored, and reopened this historic drinking house, in 2003. As
with the Red Lion, there was plenty of ornate, cut, and etched glass, which
form a special feature of the back bar. Being equally packed out, it again
wasn’t that easy to appreciate the lavish surroundings. In keeping
with it ownership, Badger beers were pride of place on the bar, and the half of
Badger BestI had, was particularly good, as well as being rare for central
London. With the prospect of a boozy evening ahead, I had deliberately stuck to
halves, but I was also trying to limit my exposure to the breath of dozens of
fellow humans, anyone of whom might have been a "plague carrier." This was more
of a sub-conscious decision, but as with the previous pub, the St Stephen’s
Tavern was uncomfortably crowded. The time
was getting on, and I had an engagement just the other side of Parliament
Square so, as they used to say in the News of the World, "I made my excuses and
left." After all, there were plenty of other beery delights to look forward to
that evening, and on the plus side, I had scooped a couple more National
Inventory Heritage pubs.
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