London Pubs Group

Campaign for Real Ale

Campaign for Real Ale

Angel

62 St Giles High Street
St Giles
WC2H 8LE

Although this pub is not a listed building it is on the Campaign for Real Ale’s (CAMRA) London Regional Inventory of Pub Interiors of Special Historic Interest and the description is as follows: “This Samuel Smith’s pub comes in two very separate halves. The original part of c.1900 is on the right but expanded later into the property on the left. The most striking feature is on the far right, a former carriage entrance which has now been turned into an extra room with seating. It is awash with tiling, even on the ceiling. A disembodied hand points the way to the ‘Saloon Bar 2nd Door’. This is a small snug which has been recreated by owners, Samuel Smiths of Tadcaster, as part of their excellent refit in the 1990s. The screen between the carriageway and the bars is original and has swirling designs in etched glass. The bar counter in the right-hand part is original but the bar-back is a replacement. The left-hand room would seem to have been taken into the pub about 1930 judging by the sleek style of the counter: the seating is quite modern. At the time of writing it was possible to detect the shadow of a former opening between the two main rooms: it was filled in during the 1990s work and returned the pub to having separate rooms once more.

History nearby: A little to the west is the fine church of St Giles-in-the Fields, rebuilt in 1731-3 to designs by Henry Flitcroft. As a complete contrast there is Centre Point, the 398- ft, 34-storey tower of 1959-67, designed by Richard Seifert & Partners, and which aroused fierce emotions as a symbol of opportunistic property speculation.”

The WhatPub link is here: WhatPub/Angel

The Pub Heritage Group link is here: PHG/Angel

The Angel featured on the Saints and Sinners: Evening Crawl of Covent Garden, Fitzrovia and Soho in April 2016.