Spirit of the Age

Gin has long been London’s tipple of choice. Together, we’ll explore one of the legacies of this love affair, the Victorian gin palace

From its birth in the slums of the late 17th century to the gin craze of the 18th century and the gin palaces of the 1830s, not forgetting the invention of the gin and tonic and a 21st-century renaissance, gin is to London what whisky is to the Celtic countries.

Londoners have always loved their gin, sometimes a little too much. As immortalised by Hogarth’s 1751 print Gin Lane, the craze had reached epidemic proportions among the city’s poor in the preceding few decades.

From 1720 to 1751, when the gin craze was at its peak, one in four houses had a still, and the drink could be bought cheaply from a public house or shop – there were between 6,000 and 7,000 dram-shops in London – as well as street wheelbarrow vendors. Mass drunkenness sparked national concern and it would take five acts of parliament to quell the craze.

But with the backstreet distillers shut down, the Victorian predilection for big business on the rise and gin back on the road to respectability, a new gin-loving era was on the horizon with the arrival of London’s glittering gin palaces.

Big-spending beer brewers, keen to exploit the population’s increasing disposable income, set about mimicking the ornate style of glamorous new department stores and shops.

With the recently introduced gas lighting and elaborately styled with spectacular tiling, woodwork and cut glass, gin palaces appealed to drinkers from all walks of life.

Several of these establishments were even designed by the most esteemed architects of the day. Thompson and Fearon’s in Holborn, the first gin palace to open in 1831, was designed John Buonarotti Papworth, whose accomplishments included designing the Montpellier Pump Room in Cheltenham and refurbishing Boodle’s gentlemen’s club in St James’s, London.

By the 1850s, there were some 5,000 around the city. In 1836, the young journalist Charles Dickens described their allure in Sketches by Boz: “All is light and brilliancy… the gay building with the fantastically ornamented parapet, the illuminated clock, the plate-glass windows surrounded by stucco rosettes, and its profusion of gas-lights in richly-gilt burners, is perfectly dazzling.”

Yet, resplendent surroundings aside, gin palaces were still designed for the mass consumption of cheap gin and differed from public houses; there was usually no seating or food served, and they were often rather raucous. The gin was stored in huge barrels and served in jugs and smaller casks as part of increasingly alluring concoctions such as “cream of the valley” or “celebrated butter gin” to help create the allusion of sophistication.

No early gin palaces survive in their original glory. However, many were refitted during the public house boom of the late Victorian age in a style greatly inspired by the gin palace. Thankfully, some of these London hostelries survive today and can claim a straight line of descent to this illustrious heyday, allowing you to get a taste of those glamorous gin-crazy times.

Argyll Arms, Oxford Circus

Built in 1742 close to Oxford Circus, parts of the Argyll are scarcely changed from late Victorian times. Look out for its impressively large mirrors, which miraculously survived the Blitz, and discover the little-altered layout with its separate drinking areas speaking of the social divides of the time: the snug areas were designed to separate the upper and lower classes. There is also spectacular wood and glasswork, rare surviving original fittings from the turn of the century.

Flying Horse (formerly the Tottenham), Oxford Street

One of the best-preserved pubs in London, the Grade II-listed Flying Horse is the last remaining watering hole on the busy shopping mecca of Oxford Street. The pub itself dates back to at least 1790, but the current building was rebuilt in 1893 by the big-spending Baker Brothers, London’s most extravagant pub entrepreneurs of the late Victorian age, and renamed the Tottenham (it has only recently reverted to its original name).

Back then it was near a popular music hall, the influence of which can still be seen in its design. The Flemish Renaissance style exterior leads to a highly ornate interior with fine painted ceiling bosses and elaborate murals of voluptuous nymphs by Felix de Jong, the leading musical hall decorative artist of the times.

Viaduct Tavern, Holborn (featured photo)

People travel far and wide to see this stunning pub. The Viaduct opened in 1869 near St Paul’s and still has the whiff of a gin palace about it thanks to an interior remodelling carried out between 1898 and 1900 and overseen by Arthur Dixon, a leading light in the Arts and Crafts movement. Elegantly curving around a busy corner, the interior is packed with etched glass panels and a series of large portraits representing agriculture, banking and the arts, an original Lincrusta ceiling and a cashier’s booth, where tokens would have been exchanged to buy gin or ale because the bar staff were not trusted with cash.

Princess Louise, Holborn

Possibly the most beautiful pub in London and a rich example of a Victorian public house interior from 1872, the Princess Louise was built by the top craftsmen of the day and has been recreated with outstanding authenticity. Brightly coloured fruit-shaped tiles, glasswork and gilt mirrors abound, while the original layout includes a rare example of a cubicle for private drinking at the bar. Gents should pay a visit to the splendid basement lavatory, Grade II-listed in its own right, to see the original tiled walls and fittings.

Punch Tavern, Fleet Street

Still one of London’s most dazzling pubs, the Punch Tavern (above left) was rebuilt in all its opulent glory between 1893 and 1897 by architects Saville and Martin, at the behest of the Baker Brothers. The extravagance is immediately apparent with the glazed tiled entrance and barrel-vaulted skylight, which leads to a bar that largely retains its original design. An abundance of features survive from the mosaic floor and cut-glass mirrors to the sumptuous tile work, ornate painted panels and pink marble bar. Don’t miss the series of original Punch and Judy themed paintings from 1897, which celebrate the fact Punch magazine was founded nearby in 1841.

Be-Gin Again

London is experiencing a gin renaissance: new distilleries, specialist bars and tasting experiences ate popping up at an extraordinary rate as the city once again goes gin crazy. Find out where to get a taste…

Sipsmith, Chiswick

At the forefront of the gin revival, Sipsmith was the first new small-scale distillery to open its doors in London since 1820. (Setting a licence to do so was something of an adventure for the nascent company, as nobody had been granted one in living memory and small-batch distilling was still technically outlawed by the gin acts of the 18th century. Today, this handcrafted gin can be found across Britain, and you can tour the distillery and see Prudence, the copper still, on selected weekday evenings.

The Ginstitute, Notting Hill

A gin lover’s dream come true, the Ginstitute is nestled above the Portobelio Star pub in Notting Hill offering masterclasses that chart the history of the drink, a tasting session and the chance to blend your own gin. There’s also a museum with fascinating gin paraphernalia and plans are even afoot to launch London’s first gin hotel.

Holborn Dining Room, Holborn

The beautiful Gin Bar at Holborn Dining Room claims London’s largest collection of gin with more than 400 varieties and 27 tonics to whet your whistle. In the stylish, copper-topped bar, gin lovers can savour over 14,035 possible gin and tonic pairings.

Jensen’s, Bermondsey

Another new small distiller, Jensen’s makes traditional-style London gins in Bermondsey. The London Dry replicates the drink from the heyday of the gin cocktail, while the Old Tom gin is made to a recipe from the 1840s. Distillery tours can be arranged on request.

214 Bermondsey, Bermondsey

This gin and cocktail bar has knowledgeable bartenders on hand to guide you through an array of more than 80different gins, which include focal London gins Jensen’s and Sipsmith. If the options are overwhelming, it also offers four “gin flights’ – three distinctive spirits mixed with tonic which drinkers are encouraged to identify from the notes before being given the answer.