Euston, St Pancras and Kings Cross Pubs
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- čas přidán 27. 06. 2024
- By popular request, in this video I explore the pubs in the Euston / St. Pancras / Kings Cross area of London. As usual taking a close look at the interiors, exteriors and history.
Links etc:
Euston Tap
whatpub.com/pubs/NLD/5933/eus...
historicengland.org.uk/listin...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euston_...
Rocket
whatpub.com/pubs/NLD/5930/roc...
pubheritage.camra.org.uk/pubs...
historicengland.org.uk/listin...
londonwiki.co.uk/LondonPubs/S...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somers_...
ruthsiddall.co.uk/Walks/PubGe...
Queen's Head
whatpub.com/pubs/NLD/6344/que...
pubheritage.camra.org.uk/pubs...
londonwiki.co.uk/LondonPubs/S...
historicengland.org.uk/listin...
Scottish Stores
whatpub.com/pubs/NLD/5555/sco...
pubheritage.camra.org.uk/pubs...
historicengland.org.uk/listin...
londonwiki.co.uk/LondonPubs/I...
King Charles I
whatpub.com/pubs/NLD/5551/kin...
pubheritage.camra.org.uk/pubs...
londonwiki.co.uk/LondonPubs/I...
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:32 Euston Tap
4:08 Rocket
8:38 Queen's Head
12:16 Scottish Stores
17:06 King Charles I
20:20 Outro (featuring a squirrel)
The King Charles pub animal heads are, first one is an Indian Blackbuck and the second one is an African Sable Antelope.
Impressive identification skills there! That's good to know, thanks.
Fair play for reviewing the King Charles 1..The locals fought successfully to keep it out of the hands of the developers..They do a 50s night which to say the least is quite surreal when you've had a few..Great video.
One of my favourite pubs in the area. I’ll sometimes take the 30 minute bus ride from home to enjoy a few pints there. Good ales and a good vibe as well.
It definitely has the feel of being a bit of an institution!
My Dad Padraic Syron took over Charles the First in 1987 and renovated it in 88. It was split into two sections known as the 'Jerry Bar' as its large cellar was a shelter during WW2. So thats where the nick name came from. He closed for weeks sanding the floors re exposing the wood panalled walls which had tacky wall paper on them. The chunky wooden upper bar was built in that 1988 by a Dublin carpenter and Dad. You are right to suggest it was built in the 1920s. An old war vet that lived across the road confirmed that to me in the early 1990s. I spent the summers working for my Dad as a teenager. Fantastic memories.
So when he took it over it was the worst pub in Kings Cross. A wee brothal of sorts. Like the Flying Scotsman. Carpet on the floor. The curved bar was to the front 1 metre from the front door. All 3 front doors in use. One for each bar and the centre for the bar which had a steel glass rack over it if i remember correctly i was 11 on my first visit 1987. With a dark rear corridor linking the northern room to the toilets. A pool table was on the northern Caladonian side. My Dad got the brewery to install beautiful brass lights over the sign which was hand crafted olde english letters in 88. He always had hanging flower baskets and window boxes. His german shepard Bruno was handy at the time Kings cross was dangerous and he was extremely strick about who was served. He had a glass food display case on the pentonville side of the bar. He was busy with ham of the bone toasties. Very busy it was packed solid spilling out the doors ever Monday to Friday lunch and evenings with bankers mostly from nat west. So the lunch time food was an asset. He always said that if someone told him in his younger days that he would be running a back street pub in Kings Cross in the twlight of his career that he would Kick them right up into the balls. He had been very sucessful multiple pubs in Cork Ireland mostly one known as the 'Blue Dragon Inn' in Kilworth. Then he had a restaurant in Eyre Square Galway and when my parents split he went to London angry at being forced to sell a property cheap in 87/88 once exchanging hands in about 2005 for 11.8 million euros. In truth this wee gem of a pub brought him great joy. He loved the business and known to be a true master of the trade. He often reGealed stories of its sucess and the funny customers he encountered. He spoke alot about the rapid toasted ham and cheese lol. Which annoyed my siblings immensely. He had a very loud unusual laugh. He praised me alot for doing things his way. He once said "always let them think you are a nice lad, let them see a nice clean glass, subliminal messaging a little bit of chit chat" and the rest is trade secrets. 😂 clean appearance shirt and tie always. He had many fine bartenders Stephen McKenna his favourite. The first Dublin lad struggled barring people. It seemed so heartless as a kid he barred 3 harmless men in front of my younger brother and I just to show us how the hard side of the business. It broke his heart in fairness but one has to be extremely selective with small pubs.
My favourite and most impressive memories of Dads time was about 1990 91 when the Royal Welsh national choir used to spill out the kerb singing their hearts out. Once someone dropped a glass and they sang a hilarious appoligy to Dad. They loved the real ale. Rough trade record's celebrated a number one with betty Boo of something they were on collier st at the time. He got mad at Sam fox and ran her something i would never have done. She and her glam model bouncing lavish blondie friend (l loved her had my teenage self pulled asunder over her ) brought a cat in to the pub. Dad thought it was a dog at first then lost ot when he realised it was a cat. I think they wanted some water for it. They shoukd have said nothing. My Dad hated bimbo tarts. I loved winding him up about it. He only liked classy educated slightly posh women or funny hard working ones. My mother burnt him bad. Bruno was very useful even though my Dad has a scrapper and alpha. Once he was busy and late letting the dog out. So the dog ran straight out to his tree across the street for a piss. There was a black lad leaning on it so the dog most have got a fright and burstingbfor a piss he nearly tore the calf of the poor black lad. My Dad could never understand why he and Bruno got away with it he was sure the dog woukd have to be put down. Anyways years latter about 94/95 my brother asked me to come down from Birmingham where i studied so he could play golf in Ireland. So i had to go buy a few kegs of lager and the taxi driver told me to F32k off so this Irish dude with a rolls royce helped me out and on the way back we dropped into a notorious london gamgster wont name absolute gent to be fair. He said that he knew of my Dad. That his dog Bruno had ripped the calf off this blacks lads leg. They wanted the boss this lovely Gentleman also with a lovely blue rolls royce parked beside his brothers s class mercedes's to do something about Dad. So he said to me he went to take a look and saw the hanging baskets and the lovely suited clientel in what was once the worts pub in Kings Cross. Had a quick pintbsaw what Dad was about and reported back to his team that no one touches Pat with the classes no matter how he and his dog were treating people. Interesting eye opener. Lovely man introduced me to his son and daughter a year or two younger than me. Just goes to show what the big time olde cockney bosses were about. He mentioned that he hates the mouthy wee messers. Had Irish blood too. My brother was furious even though i was just stocking up his bar. He said i should have greased up the taxi driver. My Dad said that he had suspected that the black lad was a wanted villian. And was not suprised to hear the the cockney boss would be a true gent. Moral of that story is always stop to let your dog out for a piss especially if he has big teeth.
Paul Caster of the poor school once told me that Dad was the biggest sponsor of that school when they opened or expanded. But he wanted the donation kept private. The poor school added some character to the pub if not big spenders. My Dad was showing Johanna Lumley how to poor a pint of real ale in the spot the difference in the news of the world. The fake picture had Dad dripping in jewelry.
One wee mention an important publicians tactic. There was this now famous actor from the isle of man one of so many from the poor school. Francis McGee. A pure Rogue. Francis had the habbit of falling if his motorbike plastered mouldy drunk. Anyways my Dad told me if he starts acting up and singing and taking the piss out of the boring "Berlinton Bertie" types put a pint of guinness in front of him when he was not there. McGee was a cute hoor he could read who was irrating my Dad and start blagarding them singing at them and rousing them. But my Dad explained that characters like him always have a following and their nature makes others sip up. Always buy the leaders a pint the person who organises the group or the one who keeps them amused like the blagard McGee.
In about 93 my brother Conal got to buy my Dad out. He installed the fireplace. Dad liked it from the photos not my cup of tea. Conal renamed it the "Craichouse" even though Dad never aimed to attract our own people or the Scots thinking the English were easier to deal with. Anyways Conal is born in the chinese year if the monkey i can make no sence of him. I leased this gem off my brother for a year after Jason King an Ozzy leased it. Conal actually had the chance to but an adjoining property onto Caladonian road dirt cheap. This infuriates me still. My Dad too was furious about this. It was not the hoor house on the corner the one next to it. If done tastefully it could have almost doubled its size and trebbled its turnover with Caledonian road exposure. Conal is actually in fairness to a decent bartender like Dad with a short fuse but he just loves to agitate us his family. I swear he did not expand that pub just to annoy us and the Craichouse name made absolutley no sense. Conal actually barred Tony Adams something i would not have done in a million years . The thought of having the Arsenal team locked in all night would not have escaped me even if Dad had a different view.
Oh and the Pub is haunted. Im not scared to talk about but dont believe its lucky. When i was a teenager 90/91 this big old man came in one afternoon. He is the WW2 vet who mentioned when it was built. He was born across the street. He said there was a fatality at the bottom of the stairs and that the victim never got justice. Years later early 99 a Dublin lady claiming to be a clairvoyant type came in and said your Pub has lotsbof spirits. I was think my arse it does but wanted to bring her to the cellar to see if she would add to what the old soldier had said. Months earlier doing a beerline clean i heard a racket and thought nothing of it. Anyways down we went with a local who she was trying to seduce. Straight away she said that a mannwas pushed to his death. She went further and mentioned the spirit in the alcove. I dont want to get into too much detail. I was seeing the dollar signs (talking to tour bus people) then this man kindly nicely asked me for my own sake to stop. I wont mention the ones in the bar. I used too alot. Lets just say the building is steeped in history. In 1987 Kings Cross was the biggest red light area in UK known for drugs and poverty. Back in the day it the poverty was extreme. So ill let those Dear spirits rest in peace. Thanks for covering this wee gem of a pub.
Thanks for the post thats brilliant 👍🍺
Definitely of Value! Waiting for trains I have now visited and enjoyed both the Stores and the Charles. These videos are well made.... and erudite which is to my taste.
The weekly dose of Sir Tweedy of Pubshire, Absolutely Fantastic! Cheers 🍻🍻
😂 I don't think there's any risk of me ever being ennobled but thank you! 🍺
Love the videos. Hope to share a pint with you soon
@@TweedyPubs 😂😂
This is fast becoming one of my favourite channels.. In London next month for a gig at the 100 club so viewing your reviews around the area. Great work and superb commentary...
I worked as a planner on the King's Cross redevelopment project and your video brought back fond memories. Cheers!
Tweedy on the lash.......another enjoyable jaunt,thanks for uploading,you are becoming a regular in our household.thank you Sir Tweedy....
Nice video. The Euston Tap is decent, but I miss The Cider Tap as I do the excellent Bree Louise.
Must admit I would cross the road and go to Mabel’s Tavern or the Skinners Arms, if I was near to St Pancras or Kings Cross. When I worked at Euston the Bree Louise was the Jolly Gardeners and the nearby Exmouth Arms were both the pubs to use before going to get your train from the station. There was one on Drummond street too, but the name escapes me.
The Flying Scotsman! Those were the days! 😂😂😂
This seems to be a running theme in the comments!
Loving your pub tours of London, I'm living vicariously through them. Doing a tour of cocktail bars in Victoria, BC this Canadian Bank Holiday weekend - I should pull a Tweedy and film them, but I need to do more research on pub geology of Canada!
It always makes me sad to see graffiti on beautiful buildings, and a bit pissed off really
Yes I was attempting to be restrained by just saying it made me sad, but my honest reaction is a bit stronger than that.
agreed. Real "taggers" dont do it on historical buildings like that. Ill be cycling past tomorrow. Ill see if its removed.
The King Charles and Queens Head are really nice pubs. The King Charles probably edges it for being tucked away on a quiet side road. Always welcome in Kings Cross particularly! McGlynns, The Lord John Russell and The Dolphin are all decent and tucked away on quiet roads too.
The Flying Scotsman, very interesting pub,
I went there when working in London. Filthy inside, filthy strippers and filthy old men in rain macks. It was a great laugh 😂
It is now a dreary keg beer bar devoid of 'Gentlemens' Entertainment!
@@user-mo5om5tv1m no real ale then, many railwaymen will be disappointed
Happy memories of the collections made by the ladies, prior to their performances
Wow!! The Scottish stores!! What a beauty!
Getting the train from Birmingham to Euston, the Bree Louise was always a go to! Terrible loss. Next time, Scottish stores is the first on the list. As always, keep up the good work!👍 Paul
Thanks Paul! Yes I'm still sad about the Bree Louise - had that still existed I would have just done a 20 minute video in there and have been done with it! But, you know, all good things come to an end and all that. The Scottish Stores certainly has its charms.
A friend and I were in the Bree Louise the day it shut for good. We spoke to the owner who sure wasn't happy about it. All for nothing now that HS2 isn't going to Euston.
Yes very sad indeed - I was unaware it had closed and showed up at some point in 2019 (?) to find the place all boarded up. That was a very glum day.
@@TweedyPubs It was like a permanent cask beer fest in that place. I sure miss it.
Great locations and narrative! Always leaves me thirsty 🎉
Thanks L&J! Well, it's Friday night - if now isn't an appropriate time to crack open a beer then I don't know when is!
Queen's Head and Scottish Stores note: Aberdeen granite is grey, Peterhead granite is pink.
Really good selection of pubs here. Interesting as I rarely ventured into this area of London
Definite roof space in The Scottish Stores when I was last in (about 2 years ago) I'm sure there were stairs upwards at the partition.
Enjoying the videos please continue with them.
The cider in the queens head that you had looked like cheddar valley in which case im not suprised you cant remember what you were drinking , proper stuff that is 👍🏻
Good vid.
Hi Tweedy. Despite your initial doubts you pulled out at least one if not two pubby pubs. Well done. As for the beer, nothing to write home about, but well done for largely avoiding the dreaded curse of grapefruit IPA! 🤢
Why do grapefruit IPA's get a bad press?
@@sicksquid3258 A modern invention which us beer drinkers of a certain age find to be an unpleasant oddity 🤢
nice video tweedy pubs
Scottish stores used to be the flying scotsman and would have strippers. The panelled booths were probably more appreciated than the stilton prints.
I liked the Cider Tap as well - shame it isn’t open anymore
Thank you for the information as I believe I was amongst those who requested a video on the subject, mainly as this is where many people find themselves on arrival in London once they step out of the station It looks like the Scottish Stores for me or pressing on to Holborn as you suggest.
Pretty sure the Scottish stores was for years called the flying Scotsman and for many years was a well known strippers pub and as rough as hell. Been gentrified with the arrival of Eurostar arrived at St Pancras
Scottish Stores was previously a naughty pub i believe.😉 Another refurbed pub...id say the original was authentic pub.
Agreed on Bullet. Another pub taken over by a brewery/chain id say. Bland and generic really.
It always annoys me in London that so many pubs are "refurbed". Maybe im spoilt, as im from Dublin, and alot of pubs not been touched for 50/100 years.
I would have included The Boot on Cromer St, particularly for its feel as a "locals" pub, who once included Kenny Williams' parents. McGlynn's was also a favourite that closed (allegedly temporarily) not so long ago following the death of the landlord.
Thanks Gareth - I don't know the Boot so I will give it a go at some point. The sign on the door of McGlynn's just said it was "temporarily closed", but from a quick Google around it sounded to me like the prospects were a bit gloomy, sadly.
the calthorpe Arms is a great pub it has a lot of history and was built in 1820s
Location: 252 Grays Inn Road, City of London, WC1X 8JR
Description: It was at this pub that the 'Brink's Mat robbery' was planned. It was also the spot where the first policeman in London was killed. 👌
The King Charles looks interesting my type of place with the nice naks cheers🍻
Glad he mentioned the Bree Louise. Absolute disgrace that it was shut
Hi John, Interesting to read the comments on the previous name of the Scottish Stores. I'd heard of The Flying Scotsman .... but never went!! Im glad that they saved the original parts of it and they have been replaced.
Am I right in thinking that parts of the arch were found in a nearby river. What were they thinking demolishing that. Good to see the other buildings being used even if they weren't originally pubs.
Great research and very enjoyable to watch. Have a great weekend!!
Yes I believe the Flying Scotsman was just a temporary name it had for a while.
Apparently some rubble from the Euston Arch was used to fill the Prescott Channel in East London - I agree it seems like madness to me to have demolished it! I think there was talk of trying to re-instate it relatively recently as part of the HS2 development work but somehow I can't see that coming to pass.
Thanks for watching and I hope you have a great weekend too David!
Scottish Stores was The Flying Scotsman in the 90’s.
Sawdust on the floor and strippers walking around with a beer jug asking for 50p.
Great days !!
Strippers weren’t much cop btw.
I feel like London is in the process of being sanitised of all its character. Obviously not everyone will mourn the passing of places like the former incarnation of the Scottish Stores, but I can't help but think a future filled entirely with generic chain restaurants and gastropubs isn't really an improvement.
South of there a little ways you've got Blue Lion, Calthorpe Arms, and The Duke
The rocket nee the rising sun was my uncle dinnie’s ( Dennis) local great boozer in its day what have they done to it! Good video and yes lose the grapefruit
In the 1970s to some time in the 2000s, the Scottish Stores had a different name. I never went in back then. I was informed that they had no ale and there was a stage for strippers. I don’t know how true it is, but I heard that the new, current, owners reinstated the interior fittings that had fortunately been stored in the cellar. That’s just what a random drinker told me, though.
Yep I definitely heard it was a bit of a focus for the "nighttime economy" for which Kings Cross was a bit infamous back in the day. Obviously that might not be everyone's cup of tea but so much of the area has now been turned over to bland, soulless, big money development that I can't help but wonder if that more tawdry past might actually be preferable!
Yep definitely had Strippers in the late 1980s. Mind you the Scala Snooker was a venue of very refined entertainment.
Yes, back in the day it was called the Flying Scotsman. I used to go there lots, purely to study the architecture you understand...@@andrewhead6267
I just randomly remembered that they were calling it the Flying Scotsman back then.
Those more tawdry days were more fun in many ways. But the quality and ubiquity of good ale is a great benefit of the last decade or two.
Loving the videos. So many neighborhoods. Sooooooo many pubs. Get out to west London. W6 on the river.
Not great Kings X, is it? Went in the Scottish Stores for years, when it was the Flying Scotsman, and the temporary home on a Saturday night for the Northern football fan, downing a few pints of disgusting lager in a plastic glass and watching the strippers, before heading back up North, never really notice the internal architecture at the time.😆 £4.80 for a pint in the King Charles 1 is a good price for London, sure I once paid £3 for a half in there 10 years or so ago. Shame about the Brae Louise and McGlynn's, which was a pub I never discovered until a couple of years ago, very under the radar. Mabels Tavern usually my go to pub around that area, but I agree with you Tweedy, these days I'd be tempted to head up to Holborn. Anyone remember a pub in Caledonian Road called the Malt and Hops, a pub full of characters when I visited there one evening the mid 90s, ageing punk rockers and the like.
I agree Ronnie, it's really not my favourite part of London, although perhaps my reasons for not liking it are more personal (I used to work in the area, in an office I really hated). I think possibly this trip changed my mind a little bit, and the Scottish Stores in its current incarnation (without the strippers!) is somewhere I'd go again.
Gosh Tweedy you had your work cut out there. I have no idea who drinks in those pubs - is it commuters, locals or what? Have to say I just cannot warm to that area. Ive always seen it as a transit point to enter or leave London.
That said, i know London is a thousand small communities so i may be missing the point here completely. I was in the Scottish Stores just before xmas - it was crammed and i couldnt work out why, so thats on me.
Loved the history perspective you bring Tweedy - must take an age to reseach. So thank you.
Thanks for the video - and please do keep exploring. By the way, do you have a preferred non-grapefruit bottled beer? You’ve encouraged me to start drinking more draught beers which are not so gassy but I really need something I can drink at home. I will try Gevrey Chambertin too at some point but it’s not cheap!
Have you looked at the Royal George, which is practically nextdoor to Euston Station? I last visited it back in the 80's, when it was a John Courage pub, if I remember correctly.
No I haven't been - I think it's a Greene King pub today...?
The Bree Louise was a brilliant pub, but it was closed in 2018 and demolished to accommodate HS2. Ironically, with the change of HS2 plans, that demolition was unnecessary. The owner of the Bree Louise was never fully compensated and I believe he's still trying to be made whole.
I'm with you. I don't know why brewers have decided to ruin a MALT beverage with grapefruit/pine hops. I also favor ciders, as well as hefeweizen, wheat, brown, dunkel, and malty stouts. Wish I lived across the pond to explore historic pubs, boozers and workingmen's bars. Vanishing dive bars with cheap but tasty drafts are my go-to. I don't think you've done the East End, have you? I know it's been quite gentrified since I last visited well over 20 years ago. Cheers.
The Scottish stores used to be the Flying Scotsman well known for the strippers in it for years 50p in the glass 😂
hmmmm scottish stores looks familar but i dont recall the name lol
Yes it does sound like a few other people in the comments here remember its former life!
I was going to ask if you’d warmed to the area after your visit, but then the outro answered my question!
The King Charles I looked the most appealing and the Euston Station one, the least. I find it unbearable going there, knowing what happened to that incredible arch.
The Scottish Stores was interesting too, although I note from the comments it went through a shady phase! At least order is restored!
Did the Bree Louise get demolished - or could it live again?
I perhaps did warm to the area ever so slightly - I think I might go to the Scottish Stores again - despite its shady past!
Alas I believe the Bree Louise was completely demolished, and apparently it was not even really necessary, given that the plans for HS2 have changed. I think the same could have been said of the famous arch! Can you imagine that sort of thing happening in Paris or Rome...?
@@TweedyPubs the answer to that is quite simply, no! The comparison between the Parisian and London skylines is starkly depressing, isn’t it?
Such a shame about the Bree Louise. Inexcusable in the first place, and for it to be for absolutely nothing…
The pubs on Kings Cross Road have been decimated.
Interesting and informative, if only London pubs knew how to care for and serve ale with an appropriate head ax yet again all the ales looked awful
Not the tradition in the South. Go North.
Any pub that has a 'card only' policy can GTFO.
pubs you cant smoke in because daddy government has decided for you already.
no thanks.
Weird
yes its a bit weird having these overlords dictate their views onto you.@@winstonsmith2079