The Queens Public House

The Queen's Public House, No.26 Tottenham Lane, Crouch End

Originally a hotel built between 1899 and 1901 by John Cathles Hill, a builder and developer responsible for much of Crouch End's development, this public house is a remarkable example of late Victorian pub design. The building is Grade II* listed.

The building rises three storeys with an attic and features a striking architectural composition. The main frontage to Broadway Parade comprises three bays with a gabled central section, accompanied by a rounded angle incorporating two bays on Elder Avenue, and a lower bay at the south end. The external walls are constructed in red brick with extensive pale yellow limestone dressings, black granite to the ground floor pilasters and base, and a lead-sheathed roof to the angle turret. A slate mansard roof with dormers crowns the structure.

The entrance is marked by a circular lobby with a mosaic floor displaying a QH monogram, above which hangs a wrought iron screen inscribed with "THE QUEENS". The principal front features a tripartite arrangement with a central gable. The ground floor contains a triple arcade of arched windows with heavy mullions and pedimented aedicular frames, featuring Art Nouveau stained glass to the lower lights. The dado and lower sections are faced in granite with diaper pattern panels. A secondary southern entrance is flanked by Corinthian columns with an aedicule beneath a wrought iron screen bearing the pub name, with a mosaic floor repeating the inscription. The entrance to upper floors at the south end comprises a nine-panel door with overlight set within a stone hood and an open swan's neck pediment above.

The main front is articulated with Corinthian pilasters, with granite shafts supporting an entablature with painted frieze; pedimented caps crown projecting piers. The upper floors are faced in banded brickwork. Windows to the first floor are surrounded by aedicular frames with mullions treated as square columns and transoms treated as a continuation of a projecting string course; they are arranged in groups of 2, 3, and 3 along the main front, with arched windows to the central bay. Second-floor windows feature square column mullions supporting a continuous frieze to both elevations. A gabled bay rises over the central bay at attic level with banded stonework and a triple window beneath a segmental pediment. The corner drum displays six-light windows to each floor, increasing to seven at attic level, with a cornice of cut brick beneath the decorative lead roof. The return to Elder Avenue steps up towards the corner, with a chimneystack positioned beside the corner drum. The ground floor is arcaded with a decorative screen. A former entrance to upper floors on the east side, now blocked, sits beneath a pediment inscribed with "hotel".

The interior survives largely intact. A central bar divides into four separate areas separated by ornate wooden glazed partitions with etched decoration to the doors and Art Nouveau stained glass to the upper sections; pierced parapets rise above. The bar counter features a panelled front on all sides, with Ionic terms flanking the counter facing the saloon bar. The saloon includes a snuggery and wooden fireplace with a tiled surround and mirrored overmantel set within an inglenook. A further wooden chimneypiece along the east wall also has a tiled surround and mirrored overmantel. The ceiling is coffered with relief decoration depicting arabesques and mermaids. Cast iron Corinthian columns support the centre. The upper floors were not inspected during listing.

Many of the pub's fittings were manufactured in Hill's own workshops, while the notable Art Nouveau glass was supplied by Cakebread, Robey. The Queen's represents the pinnacle of late Victorian pub design, standing alongside its sister public house, the Salisbury in Green Lanes, also by Hill. The building represents an exceptional survival of this period, distinguished by its remarkable joinery and glass.