London Pubs Group

Campaign for Real Ale

Campaign for Real Ale

Edward Lear

471 Holloway Road
Holloway
N7 6LE

Formerly Quays; originally Half Moon. Although this pub is not on CAMRA’s London Regional Inventory it is a grade II listed building and the listing description is as follows: “Public House. c1860. Brick with render and painted stone dressings. Stone dressings. Slate roof with ridge and end stacks. Three storeys; three-window range. Tripartite sashes with elaborate surrounds and alternate triangular and segmental pediments. Arcaded ground floor with ironwork above recessed entrance. Second floor has tripartite sash flanked by 2/2 sashes under segmental heads. INTERIOR: open plan with cast-iron columns with Corinthian capitals. Elaborately carved bar fittings with much engraved glass. Room to rear with recessed niche and stage.”

It is a charming pub with etched windows and an interesting bar-back advertising various spirits. The advertisements continue opposite the bar-back in the woodwork of the windows. At the rear a modern but fantastic extension leads one up staircases to various dining areas. Note the extract from Edward Lear’s The Owl and the Pussycat on some of the stair treads.

The Edward Lear featured on the Romance, Fantasy and Nonsense: Evening Crawl of Finsbury Park and Holloway in August 2017.

The WhatPub link is here: WhatPub/Owl & Hitchhiker