London Pubs Group

Druids Head

3 Market Place
Kingston
KT1 1JT

Although this pub is not on any CAMRA inventory, it is a grade II* listed building and the listing description is as follows: “Kingston upon Thames, historically in Surrey, was an important market town, port and river crossing from the early medieval period, while there is evidence of Saxon settlement and of activity dating from the prehistoric period and of Roman occupation. It is close to the important historic royal estates at Hampton Court, Bushy Park, Richmond and Richmond Park. The old core of the town, around All Saints Church (C14 and C15, on an earlier site) and Market Place, with its recognisably medieval street pattern, is ‘the best preserved of its type in outer London’ (Pevsner and Cherry, London: South, 1983 p. 307). Kingston thrived first as an agricultural and market town and on its historic industries of malting, brewing and tanning, salmon fishing and timber exporting, before expanding rapidly as a suburb after the arrival of the railway in the 1860s. In the later C19 it become a centre of local government, and in the early C20 became an important shopping and commercial centre. Its rich diversity of buildings and structures from all periods reflect the multi-facetted development of the town. C17 and C18. 3 storey, 5 bay early to mid C18 front. The ground floor has a late C19 pilastered pub front and, on the right, a carriageway through to the rear. The upper floors are faced with red brick with blue brick headers, stucco bands at each floor and yellow flat gauged brick arches to the first floor windows. Flush-framed barred sash window. Tiled roof behind a parapet. 2 dormers. The back wall is later C17. Red brick ith a band at 2nd floor level and 2 mullioned and transomed timber windows on the 2nd floor. Good surviving circa early C18 features to interior, including turned baluster open well staircase, heavily moulded plaster ceilings over staircase, and to first floor front room timber panelling, (some moulded) cornices, fireplaces and doors, etc.”

The CAMRA Website link is here: CAMRA/Druids Head

The Druid's Head featured on the Three Salmon, Several Ks, and a Tun: Daytime Crawl of Kingston, Malden Manor, and New Malden on 16 October 2010, the A Turk, A Rifleman, A Druid, A Duke, A Swan and Some Doves: Daytime Crawl of Twickenham, Hampton Court and Kingston on 13 June 2015, the Hostelries Along the Hogsmill: Daytime Pub Tour of Kingston and New Malden on 15 February 2020, and features on the Hostelries Along the Hogsmill Revisited: Daytime Pub Tour of Kingston and New Malden