hennegansgoodpubsguide

[hennegansgoodpubsguide]

Good Areas for Creative Pubs in London.

1.  CHISWICK, LONDON, W4. Chiswick (Listeni/ˈtʃɪzᵻk/ chiz-ick) is a district of West London, England.

Chiswick, or ‘leafy  Chiswick’ as it seems to be known colloquially throughout London, is an interesting area for many reasons. Not least of which is the fact the London League of Irish Writers was established here in the 20th Century. This may have had something to do with the fact W.B. Yeats made his home here, as did the poet Alexander Pope, the Italian revolutionary Ugo Foscolo, the Impressionist painter Camille Pissarro and the novelist E. M. Forster.  I’m thinking of starting an Irish Writers Festival next year, as it happens.  Just because I can..! Chiswick was first recorded around the year 1000 as the Old English Ceswican meaning 'Cheese Farm.’  The riverside area of Duke’s Meadows is thought to have supported an annual cheese fair up until the 18th century.  Today there are numerous arts-realted festivals in Chiswick, but sadly, no Cheese fair.

Chiswick grew up as a village around St Nicholas Church (pictured) from c. 1181 on Church Street.  The street and the church are, thankfully, still here.  Chiswick’s early inhabitants practised farming, fishing and other riverside trades, including a ferry - very important as there were no bridges between London Bridge and Kingston throughout the Middle Ages.  The area included three other small settlements; the fishing village of Strand-on-the-Green, Little Sutton and Turnham Green on the west road out of London. Two of the three are still known today.  (Clue: Little Sutton is not!) A decisive skirmish took place on Turnham Green early in the English Civil War. In November 1642, royalist forces under Prince Rupert, marching from Oxford to retake London, were halted by a larger parliamentarian force under the Earl of Essex. The royalists retreated and never again threatened the capital.  And today, Chiswick has the lovely Turnham Green Terrace, a delightful and often award-winning collection of local, small, craft and - of course - corporate shops.  I strongly recommend you visit the Oxfam charity shop if you have any interest in old books.  I bought a second edition copy of a Walter Sickert biog for two quid!  And the staff are the usual Oxfam volunteer friendly.

Chiswick also contains Hogarth’s House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Fuller’s Brewery, London’s largest and oldest brewery. The brewery run regular tours too.  Not as exciting as our Literary Pub Crawl, of course, but its well worth doing if you have any interest in how our beer is made!  

Chiswick occupies a meander of the River Thames used for competitive and recreational rowing, with several rowing clubs on the river bank. The finishing post for the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race is just downstream of Chiswick Bridge.  I’ve always been an Oxford - dark blue - supporter.  Not that I went anywhere near Oxbridge on my council estate, housing project, secondary modern school, of course - but we had a family holiday there one year.  And I’d never been to Cambridge.  

With good communications to London from an early time, Chiswick became a popular country retreat.  As part of the suburban growth of London in the late 19th and early 20th centuries the population significantly expanded. It became the Municipal Borough of Brentford and Chiswick in 1932 and has formed part of Greater London since 1965, when it was merged into the London Borough of Hounslow.

This stuff is important if you are not familiar with Chiswick.  More importantly, perhaps, it still feels a bit like a village; indeed some of the older locals still refer to the main shopping area along its High Road as “the village.”  

It’s also the home to many film stars and celebrities and house prices reflect this.  But it still has some good bo-ho enclaves, as you will discover if you stick with me!  And if you are nursing a pint, need to write or feel like a creative fight, Chiswick’s sheer gentility is more honest and creative than the arguably now false artifice of East London.  It’s no coincidence, I think, that media private members club, Soho House, opened their Chiswick branch, High Road House at almost the same time as they expanded east to Shoreditch. Unlike many other parts of this great city, there are very few bohemian 'tourists’ in Chiswick.  It’s posh, but not posey.   If someone looks bohemian in Chiswick, chances are they are.  It’s got no international showbizz reputation, which is why, perhaps, so many international showbizz people live here.  And it has one of the lowest crime-rates in the city.  If you can survive the extortionate rents, it’s a great place to create.  And Soho’s poseurs (and now equally eye-watering rents) are only 30 minutes away! #pubs#ukpubs#londonliterarypubcrawl#chiswick#wb yeats#alexander pope#fullers#oxbridge#civil war#turnhamgreen#SOHO#sohohouse#high road house#bohemain#cheese#st nicholas

[hennegansgoodpubsguide]

Local and Lovely

The Cross Keys, Hammersmith.

This is a bit of a strange one for us commando writers, but actually the Cross Keys is possibly one of the most ‘local’ pubs in West London (that I’ve been to, obs!) in spite of being surrounded by the millionaire dwellings of St Peters Square.  

In spite of being a ‘corporate’ (Fullers) pub it reflects its area completely though.  This small part of Hammersmith is perhaps remarkable for being hugely creative yet completely unknown.  All the external shots for the blockbuster film, Miss Potter with Renee Zelweger were filmed there.  Bob Marley recorded his first album here, as did Amy Winehouse.  Mark Knopfler owns a recording studio nearby and the Rolling Stones recorded their 2016 album in British Grove, next street over, although you’d never find it unless you knew where it was.  Occasionally the Knight of the Stage who directed ‘Les Miserables’ drinks in another pub up the road.  A James Bond is a regular visitor, although he won’t thank you for saying so.  There’s a famous TV presenter who often ends up on the dart board with the locals.  It’s a Fullers house and we know how clever Fullers are at creating different pubs for different people. But over my years in London this boozer has been consistent.  And its not particularly glamorous, because as well as the odd famous name drinking in here, there’s the usual pub sprinkling of Shepherds Bush bigots and loud-mouth bar flys.  But the stars mainly come because they know it’s a local boozer and their novelty soon wears off with the locals.  To the point where the locals almost become defensive for the other locals - no matter how famous they are.  The Keys deals with this all.

As they do with the ‘pigeon lady’, Zoe, a young woman who occasionally brings her tame pigeon into the pub in a pigeon harness.  Really.  In a cage and on a leash, the pigeon usually sits quietly on her shoulder while she reads the newspaper.  It’s also a (Fullers) pub that knows where it is and resists millionaire prices.  For the last few years, for instance, they’ve done the cheapest Christmas lunch locally and in spite of selling out every year, they have resisted raising their prices. London booze is expensive, but the Keys is one of the more reasonably priced taverns in West London. The Fullers wi-fi is strong and reliable and unusually for a managed house the success of the Keys, I think, is down to the current manager who has publicly stated that unlike his average four year tenancy colleagues at Fullers, he “wants to be carried out of here feet first in 20 years.”  A real throw back to the Soho landlords of old!

And best of all, sometimes, when you are writing, the bar staff will approach you, without prompting, and fetch you a beer, waiter stylee.  There are nearly always quiet areas to work, including a 'barn’ at the back, with plenty of power points.  On one occasion, I was asked if I would like a free meal, as the kitchen had got an order wrong and they didn’t want to waste the food!  Needless to say, I accepted! It would be crass of me to mention some of the star names that frequent the Keys and, in the spirit of full disclosure, I know this pub well, because I live nearby.  Although in a distinctly non-millionaire one-bed flat in the back garden of one of the big houses.  

It’s not all utopia - as most pubs do in London, they’ll chase you out at the end of the night.  But there’s no pretension, the staff are universally friendly and put up with all sorts and if you go in more than a couple of times, not only will they know what you want to drink, the chances are they’ll remember your name too!  I’m a fan!

Never, ever change. In fact I’m not even going to post a link to the pub.  I don’t want to publicise it too much.  Find it if you can and say Nick sent you.  I’m sure they’ll make you welcome!

🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷  Bo-ho Heaven. Live. there. That is all.

[hennegansgoodpubsguide]

The Cross Keys, Hammersmith.  Coming soon...

[hennegansgoodpubsguide]

Hello!

This is not a tourist guide to quaint pubs.  Although, having said that, some of the pubs featured here are not only ’quaint’, but downright architectural marvels!  And if you are a tourist, I think you’ll love it.  I know I would if I was going to a new city or a place I didn’t know too well.  (I’d love it so much I might be producing similar blogs for other cities.  Although that is for later…!) This is personal journey though.  I’ve visited, drunk in (and being honest, sometimes got drunk in!) all these venues.  I’ve read and often researched their history, particularly those pubs and taverns frequented by the more famous literary names.  And this is not really a good pub guide in the style of the excellent CAMRA (Campaign For Real Ale) or other hotel or food guides.  

This is a blog about pubs I’ve been in that have ambience and character beyond the corporate, although some of them are very corporate indeed.  It’s not even a good style guide, because some of my trendier London friends wouldn’t be seen dead in some of the pubs I’ve loved here.  In much the way the world is perhaps wearying of globalisation and formulaic experiences, so these pubs, bars and taverns offer something different, particularly for us new members of the ‘gig’ economy.  Set free by technology, we write, work and create in coffee bars and bars, rather than traditional offices.  I judge a good pub not by the quality of the real ale, but by the quality of the real people.  Initially this book was to be about pubs that were good for writers and that is still true, as (usually) the reason I spend evenings in the pub, if not with friends, is to work and write in isolation.  Away from the TV and comforts of home, but still amongst people.  And writing can be a terribly lonely profession, so the odd smiling (or snarling) face is quite a nice thing!  As is always the case, a pub - the physical building - will stay the same, but the ambiance will change hugely depending on the management.  And that’s the glory of modern technology!  I invite you to let me know if you find your own special place, or if you have a very different experience in these pubs.  Although it’s not Trip Advisor!  But mainly I am of an age now where I feel we should live slower and maybe appreciate the gentler, more personal  things in life. And in spite of the obvious dangers of the drug that is alcohol, the sense of community in the average British Pub can be quite exceptional.