One of Britain's Real Heritage Pubs on CAMRA's National Inventory of Pub Interiors of Outstanding Historic Interest

This is a prominent corner-site Victorian pub which underwent a major refurbishment in 2005. This transformed it into an establishment which has earned it an enviable reputation for eating and drinking yet at the same time many of the historic features have been preserved.

The central serving area remains, albeit with changes for food service, and therefore the Victorian counter survives. On the left-hand side (approached from the Chippenham Road entrance) there are impressive reminders from Victorian days.

The mosaic floor announces the name of the pub and there are some mirror and floral tile strips on the left-hand wall. Also the glass in two of the doors names the saloon bar that lay beyond. Here there is some very fine mahogany wall panelling and also three stained glass panels but these have no doubt been resited. The main panel is of a girl playing a lyre. Sadly this is not glass painting at its best and reflects the cheaper, popular end of the market at the end of the 19th century.

The Regional Inventory descriptions in these notes are extracts from the following book
London Heritage Pubs: An Inside Story

The Red Squirrel featured on the Daytime Crawl of NW London and Maida Vale in October 2006 (then named The Skiddaw), the Viva Victorian: Evening Crawl of Maida Vale and Maida Hill in December 2012, and the Rural Rides: Daytime Crawl of Kensal Green, Maida Hill, Maida Vale and St John's Wood (then named The Squirrel).