The Princess Louise is a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

situated on

High Holborn High Holborn ( ) is a street in Holborn and Farringdon Without, Central London, which forms a part of the A40 route from London to Fishguard. It starts in the west at the eastern end of St Giles High Street and runs past the Kingsway and Sou ...

, a street in central

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Built in 1872, it is best known for its well-preserved 1891 Victorian interior, with wood

panelling Panelling (or paneling in the U.S.) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity to make roo ...

and a series of booths around an island bar. It is a

tied house In the United Kingdom, a tied house is a public house required to buy at least some of its beer from a particular brewery or pub company. That is in contrast to a free house, which is able to choose the beers it stocks freely. A report for th ...

owned by the

Samuel Smith Brewery Samuel Smith Old Brewery, popularly known as Samuel Smith's or Sam Smith's, is an independent brewery and pub owner based in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England. It is Yorkshire's oldest brewery, founded in 1758, and one of three breweries in th ...

Tadcaster Tadcaster is a market town and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England, east of the Great North Road, north-east of Leeds, and south-west of York. Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

About

Being located near

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

, the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

and the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

, it is patronised by academics.

Building

The building is protected by its Grade II* listing and has what has been described as "a rich example of a Victorian public house interior", by William B Simpson and Sons; who contracted out the work.'' Protz, R.''(Ed.), Good Beer Guide 2006, As it is considered so historically significant even the men's toilets, with their marble urinals, are listed. The pub, which is also listed on

National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors The National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors is a register of public houses in the United Kingdom with interiors which have been noted as being of significant historic interest, having remained largely unchanged for at least 30 years, but usu ...

, was refurbished in 2007. The pub is unusual in that it retains its snob screens. In June 2009, the pub was joint winner of the best refurbishment class of the 2008

Pub Design Awards The Pub Design Awards (PDA) are an annual awards, established in 1983 and hosted by CAMRA in association with English Heritage and the Victorian Society, that are given to exceptional pubs in the UK that have been newly built/converted or have r ...

awarded annually by

CAMRA The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent voluntary consumer organisation headquartered in St Albans, England, which promotes real ale, cider and perry and traditional British pubs and clubs. With just under 155,000 members, it is the ...

. Author Peter Haydon included the Princess Louise in his book ''The Best Pubs in London'' and rated it No. 5 in the capital, saying it had "possibly the best preserved Victorian pub interior in London".

History

The pub was operated by

Regent Inns Regent Inns was the British parent company of Walkabout & Surfer's Paradise (bar & club), Walkabout, Jongleurs (comedy club), Jongleurs/Bar Risa and Old Orleans chains. It went into Administration (law), administration in October 2009. The part-ti ...

from 1990 until 1998, when the lease was taken over by Samuel Smith. The Princess Louise is also notable for having been the venue for a number of influential folk clubs run by

Ewan MacColl James Henry Miller (25 January 1915 – 22 October 1989), better known by his stage name Ewan MacColl, was a folk singer-songwriter, folk song collector, labour activist and actor. Born in England to Scottish parents, he is known as one of the ...

and others, which played an important part in the

British folk revival The British folk revival incorporates a number of movements for the collection, preservation and performance of folk music in the United Kingdom and related territories and countries, which had origins as early as the 18th century. It is particul ...

of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Gallery

File:Princess Louise public house, High Holborn, London 01.JPG File:Princess Louise public house, High Holborn, London 02.JPG File:Princess Louise public house, High Holborn, London 03.JPG File:Princess Louise public house, High Holborn, London 04.JPG File:Princess Louise public house, High Holborn, London 05.JPG File:Princess Louise public house, High Holborn, London 06.JPG File:Princess Louise public house, High Holborn, London 07.JPG File:Princess Louise public house, High Holborn, London 08.JPG File:Princess Louise public house, High Holborn, London 09.JPG File:Princess Louise public house, High Holborn, London 10.JPG

References

External links

CAMRA National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors

Beer in the Evening

pubs.com review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Princess Louise National Inventory Pubs Grade II* listed pubs in London Commercial buildings completed in 1872 Buildings and structures in Holborn 19th-century architecture in the United Kingdom Pubs in the London Borough of Camden Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Camden