Notting Hill Pubs

An exploration of the pubs of London's Notting Hill area, which has been requested a few times in the comments, but I was a bit reluctant as I thought the neighbourhood had been completely gastropubbified! It turned out at least a bit better than I expected, with three of the pubs on CAMRA's list of historic pub interiors, with various degrees of noteworthiness, from the slightly surreal "Robocop" interior of the Duke of Wellington to the opulent "jewel in the crown of Victoran pub screens" at the Elgin.

Links etc:

Sun in Splendour

Cock & Bottle

Earl of Lonsdale

Duke of Wellington

Elgin

Chapters:

0:00 Intro
0:35 Sun in Splendour
3:29 Cock & Bottle
7:18 Earl of Lonsdale
12:08 Duke of Wellington
16:52 Elgin
20:41 Outro

[liberty_and_justice]

The Elgin was stunning! The others would not be worth the trip. Great work!

[dogbreaththerd]

I remember bumping into Lemmy in the Lonsdale in the eary 1980's. He was very pleasant and drinking pint bottles of Old Brewery Brown while chain smoking.

[andrewdolinskiatcarpathian]

Hi Tweedy. You undersold the tour of Notting Hill Pubs. They got better and better. Not a bad one amongst them. Perhaps the beer was the disappointment. 👏👏👍😀🍺

[philcollinson]

Tweedy Pubs and Gary eats would be a marvelous collab' ...

[jeanpeuplu]

Never let down by the smart, fascinating pub tours of yours ! Cheers for the upcoming 10K !

[jameslynch-hq]

The best pub around there was the KPH which had a great crowd and a legendary landlord who was a highly successful music tour operator and brought many big name acts to the Uk from the USA.
An Irish guy.
I think he’s still got his live music venue elsewhere.
He fought a long and expensive battle with the brewery and had lots of high profile supporters.
Just across from the Elgin which is an ok place.
Very close to the infamous Rillington Place

[robcoles]

Hi Tweedy as you know i really enjoy your brilliant pub tours - the history, the architecture, the pubby environment (or not). Notting Hill is not a part of town I've visited often but i may be up that way before long and will certainly be dropping into a couple of those pubs. Cheers.

[SteveTrim]

Great video as always Tweedy. Back in the 1980's Notting Hill was one of the most inexpensive areas in London to live. You were never more than 6 feet away from a drug dealer in The Elgin. I think the Clash played one of their first gigs there.

[ermanerdogan]

Thank you Sir. As a regular tourist, that area is my favorite.

[waddsbadds]

An enjoyable tour, and I was eager to see if you would feature a pub I had in mind. I'm a British ex-pat and have lived in the US since 1973. In about 2005 I took my wife, son and daughter to London. We stayed at a hotel just along Bayswater Road and on the day of arrival we set out on foot to find a pub where I could buy my daughter her first legal drink. She was 18, so still not able to drink legally at home. From my vague recollection of where we went that day (to Portobello Road market first) I think it may have been the Old Swan at the junction of Notting Hill Gate and Kensington Church Street. I recall her ordering a cider for her first tipple.

[thekentishpilgrim]

Always lovely to see the old neighborhood. I lived in W11 for years before becoming "Kentish". Anyway, your instincts are right on amongst the pubs you went to. The Cock was one of my favorites from that area but I try not to tell people about it as I don't want it to become the next Pelican. The Elgin was also a decent place to get a drink and some grub. Can't say I ever wandered into the others. Proper pubs are quite hard to find around there, it takes some seeking out. One had to wander a bit and usually blur the lines between Notting Hill and extend out to Bayswater or Holland Park or Kensington. Appreciate the research as always. Cheers!

[davidtepper]

Enjoyed this one. The Elgin certainly looks like it would be worth a trip across London just to see it. Thanks.

[elvis]

Absolutely brilliant. I worked in Notting Hill for 16 years. The cock name meaning a tap fitting was very interesting. Thanks for covering the earl of Lonsdale which is one of my little go to favs. Also the Elgin which has the beautiful original features. Keep them coming my friend. I’m an avid fan! 😎👍👍🍺

[davidberlanny]

Hi John, mustard comes to mind for the Sun in Splendour but not because it was particularly outstanding of course!!

I noticed on a couple of the maps that the nearby churches indicated the seating capacity, not sure if I've seen that before, seems a curious thing to do.

The Elgin looked absolutely amazing and made up for the others which were perfectly fine but simply not outstanding. Bit of a desert for real ale too on today's showing.

You always manage to unearth interesting stories attached to these pubs, the sting at the Elgin was a classic!!

All the best!!

[LovelyLambLunch]

That article about The Elgin is brilliant.... (laughter) ....

[RealAlesRealPubs]

Looks like Notting Hill is another one to add to the list, great video cheers!

[alanzheng]

Thank you for the video as always Tweedy! Makes my week every time a new video comes out

[JustcallmeKathi]

Good to know that there are pubs worth visiting in Notting Hill. Thanks for pointing out all those architectural details, as always. I'm in two minds about the addition of modern elements when original features are missing, like in the Duke of Wellington. It can be an interesting contrast.

[steveboyd]

Another enjoyably informative film and some very pleasant interiors - good work once again sir 👍🏻

[What_Makes_Life_Interesting]

Thank you for the videos, sir, always entertaining. I'm in London a couple of times per year and have been keeping a list of some of the pubs you highlight. I'll be giving some a try next visit!