Although this pub is not a listed building, it is on CAMRA’s London Regional Inventory and the description is as follows: “In complete contrast to late Victorian ornateness, this corner-site pub is a rare example of late 1930s sleek streamlining. The builders were the Scottish brewer William Younger who had previously gone for a nostalgic, half-timbered style for their pubs dotted over central London. Now no more fancy foliage or gritty materials, just a smooth brick building with a rounded corner and metal windows. Note the metal door (left) and curving glass to the right-hand entrance. The interior is (and no doubt always was) a single space with a servery with panelled bar counter along the rear wall. In contrast to the exterior, there is little sense of modernity here because the extensive wall panelling does hark back to the ever-popular Tudor revival. Youngers seem to have been setting out their stall to cater for stand-up drinking by workers from the surrounding offices – hence the peninsula-style projections to prop up customers and their drinks. All in all, a rather special survivor.

History nearby: In May 1932 the British Broadcasting Corporation moved from Savoy Hill off the Strand to their brand new Portland stone building, Broadcasting House, Portland Place. The main entrance in Langham Place has bronze doors and a beautiful bas relief by Eric Gill depicting Prospero and Ariel – the building is a real architectural gem.”

Like the Wheatsheaf, this is a former Younger’s Brewery pub but in contrast, it is a rare survival of late 1930s sleek streamlining. The surviving panelling inside strikes a more traditional note, however. Julian Maclaren-Ross used to drink here to meet BBC contacts, but later switched to the George. After being refused service in the Stag’s Head one night, he called the police but was himself arrested for being drunk and disorderly.

The Stag's Head featured on the Evening Crawl of Marylebone in April 2006, the Auntie's Boozers: Evening Crawl of Fitzrovia and East Marylebone in December 2008, and the Auntie's Boozers Revisited: Evening Pub Tour of Fitzrovia in April 2022.

WhatPub link: WhatPub/Stag's Head

Pub Heritage Group Link: PHG/Stags Head