The Kings Head Public House

The King's Head Public House is a mid-18th century pub with accommodation above, later altered in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is constructed of rendered brick with a tiled M-profile roof, now hidden by a rendered parapet. The front elevation facing Essex Road has three bays with 19th-century sash windows, some with horns and moulded architraves. The first-floor windows are set within rounded arch surrounds with drip moulds, while those on the second floor are shorter, with advanced sills resting on brackets. A replaced pub front with new windows and a canted corner entrance occupies the ground floor. A largely blind return elevation exists. The M-profile roof, visible only as gable ends behind the parapet, is the most obvious evidence of the building’s 18th-century origins.

The ground-floor interior has been opened up and extended to the rear. An Edwardian fireplace is present in the front section, with contemporary tiling to the bar, though the rest of the interior is mostly from the later 20th century. A particularly notable feature is the full-height staircase from the first floor to the garret, which has distinctive ‘Chinese Chippendale’ balusters – a latticework design popularized by the furniture maker Thomas Chippendale from the mid-18th century; this is a rare survival. Other surviving 18th-century interior elements include a full-width front room on the first floor with cornices and later fireplaces at each end, an 18th-century fireplace on the first floor, and several doors on the garret floor. While the original plan form is not entirely intact, it remains largely discernible. The roof structure is not visible internally but is believed to be original. Historical records, including Rocque’s 1746 map and rate book evidence, suggest a building existed on this site by the 1730s, with significant improvements made in the mid-1750s. Further alterations occurred between 1825-30 and 1835-46, potentially including additions to the rear. The rate paper in 1846 indicates a connection with a 19th-century brewery.

The building has group value with other listed buildings along Essex Road, reflecting the presence of early 17th and 18th-century core structures that are masked by later facades. The mid-18th century fabric, particularly the ‘Chippendale’ staircase, is of special interest, enjoying significance within a national context.