The Punch Tavern And Offices Above

The Punch Tavern and offices above is a public house with offices situated on Fleet Street in London, rebuilt in two phases between 1894 and 1897 by Saville and Martin for W. R. Baker. The main part of the pub and Fleet Street frontage were constructed in 1894-5, followed by the Bride Lane frontage with a luncheon bar behind in 1896-7. The building is constructed of red brick in mixed bonds, with stone dressings, polished granite, and glazed terracotta to the ground floor. It has a hipped slate roof and extends over a basement, with four storeys and dormers. The building comprises a four-window range, an angled corner window range, and a one-window range to Bride Lane. A three-storey, four-window range, in a similar style, is located to the rear.

The architectural style is Jacobean revival. The entrance is flanked by faience pilasters topped by lintels bearing the name "Punch" in original script on a banner, along with a lamp bracket and sign. Additional entrances with overlights provide access to the upper floors to the right of the corner range. A dentil cornice features on the ground floor. The upper floor window ranges are treated as a symmetrical elevation, with the centre windows projecting slightly and featuring strapwork embellishments, repeated in simpler forms to the sides. An embellished range is topped by a Dutch-gable dormer. A recessed section separates the third and fourth window ranges, the latter featuring an aedicule. The corner range mirrors the simpler ranges of the main elevation. Two tiers of windows, lighting the stairs above the second entrance, incorporate stone mullions and Jacobean ornaments. The ground floor of the rear three-storey extension is occupied by the polished granite and wood front of the public house.

The interior includes a barrel-vaulted skylight just inside the entrance, and another over the bar. Original wall panelling, bar fittings, an acanthus frieze, a dentil cornice to walls and floor beams, and ceiling panels divided by acanthus scrolls and garlands are also noteworthy. The previous building on the site, known as the "Crown and Sugar Loaf”, was renamed the "Punch Tavern" in the late 1840s due to its association with Punch magazine, which had offices nearby. Saville and Martin also designed the "Tottenham" public house on Oxford Street.