London Pubs Group

Campaign for Real Ale

Campaign for Real Ale

Prince Edward

38 Parkhurst Road
Holloway
N7 0SF

Although this pub is not a listed building, it does have an interior of some regional interest and the description is as follows: “Three-storey pub of London brick built around 1860s and refurbished around 1900 it has some polished stone on the ground floor with a curved tiled panel on the corner having the wording ‘The Prince Edward’ on a shield with some floral decoration. Situated close to Holloway women's prison. The right hand main bar has a fine entrance doorway of three sections with the two middle doors having ‘Saloon’ and ‘Lounge’ in gold on frosted glass; also impressive ironwork ‘Prince Edward’ above the doorway. Another set of doors on the front may indicate an off-sales in the past. The bar counter has a two-sided Victorian curved panelled front (pot shelf is modern). The bar was extended to the rear in the 1960s and the colourful stained glass screenwork at the end of the servery is modern. The two bay island bar back fitting is Victorian with deep cut glass panels. A section added on top in c.1960 has illuminated ‘Watney's’ and ‘Prince Edward’ panels and two of a Watney's Red Barrel. The seating bays around the room date from the 1960s. Up to the 1940s there was a partition creating a separate room at the rear which has a blocked-up skylight with a frieze around it – was there a billiard table here in the past? On the rear wall are two rare copper panels in relief – the left hand one titled “Prince Edward A Call to Arms’ and the right one “Prince Edward at the Revels” – similar panels exist at the Black Lion, Kilburn. A rare part glazed screen which has been imported from another pub to replace a screen removed in the 1960s separates the two bars – on the left Williamson Street side with its own entrance is a smaller bar with ‘Bar’ in gold on frosted glass on the door and ‘Prince Edward’ in ironwork above. The room has old dado and some full height panelling, another Victorian panelled bar counter, and the island bar back fitting described above.”

Rex Ward has also provided the following description: “[The pub] still retains several interesting heritage features, dating from various times over the previous 100 years or so. The wrought iron signage above the doors is Victorian, as is the curved tiled panel on the corner of the pub bearing the pub's name. Arguably the most arresting feature is the pair of copper panels at the back of the room on the right entitled "call to arms" and "at the revels" - these are undoubtedly Victorian as well. There are still two separate rooms accessed by their own doors to the street, or via a small corridor behind the bar. According to staff the screen separating the two rooms was introduced in the 1960s or 70s to replace one that had been removed some twenty years earlier. Much of the central stillion also dates from the 60s. The ceiling still has the Lincrusta (or Lincrusta style) decoration, and the large room at the back on the right was once the billiards room, but the skylight in there is now no longer in use.”

Rex has also pointed out this: “the pub sign makes it clear that the Prince Edward this one is named after is the Black Prince himself, the first Prince of Wales not to become king.”

The Prince Edward featured on the Romance, Fantasy and Nonsense: Evening Crawl of Finsbury Park and Holloway in August 2017.

The WhatPub link is here: WhatPub/Prince Edward

The Pub Heritage Group link is here: PHG/Prince Edward