The Pub

by Glenn DiPaola

Title

The Pub

Artist

Glenn DiPaola

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

This is where where we spent our nights learning about life as Londoner. A very large number of pubs in London have been bought by chains, but not so The Queen's Larder. It remains one of a small number of independently owned pubs. Sitting on two of the four stools most nights, we were able to watch the ebb and flow of the patrons as they made their way from one place to another.

My observation was that trips for many residents are not from point A to B, but from Point A to C, with point B being a necessary stop in between - and B stands for BEER. Our best bartender, Dave, put it best when we asked him about the place of pubs in Londoner's lives: "It's a national sport".

I wish I could write about all the flow of life that we saw there each night but it would run on far too long. While much of our trip was spent in tourist areas, this place let us sit with people that knew and loved this pub and the city. Small and intimate, with only one TV (that no one watched), rustic and real, it is a rare gem in a sadly franchised world. Below is a condensed history taken from a sign on the exterior wall of the pub.

The earliest official reference to the tavern is contained in a drawn up deed in 1710. The tavern then was a simple alehouse without an inn sign. When George III began to be affected by mental illness he stayed in nearby Queen Square under the treatment of Dr. Willis. The king's consort, Queen Charlotte, rented a small underground cellar beneath the alehouse in which she stored special delicacies for the king. When the alehouse became a tavern, it was named The Queen's Larder in Charlotte's honor.

How great is that?

Featured image in the Digital Photography group gallery.

Uploaded

January 25th, 2015

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