Dukes Head Public House

The Dukes Head Public House, built in 1900, is a notable example of late Victorian pub design. The architect is unknown. Constructed on a corner site, the pub has a granite-faced ground floor and upper floors of red brick with Portland stone dressings, topped with a slate roof concealed behind a parapet. The south front, facing Barking Road, has four bays, while the return front to St Olave’s Road has five, with a curved corner featuring twin entrances. The ground floor has segmental-arched window openings, now containing modern glass. Five original entrance doorways are present, though the central one on the south front is blocked. Each doorway retains its wrought iron screen, inscribed with labels such as “saloon bars,” “public bars,” and “private & saloon bars.” Mosaic decoration is found on the entrance thresholds. A stone frieze runs along the front, featuring acanthus panels over the entrances and a profile of the Duke of Wellington set between scrolls, with the inscription “erected 1700 1900 rebuilt.” The first floor has a rhythmic arrangement of windows, set within banded rustication, with plain plate glass at the lower level and small square panes above. The corner and outer windows have blocked surrounds, flanked by pairs of mullioned oriel windows, each with a recessed balcony and a broken pediment. Cast iron cresting sits above the parapet. The second-floor windows are plainer, with 6/6-pane sashes in stone surrounds. A heavy modillion cornice supports the rendered parapet, and four tall chimneystacks with modillion cornices complete the exterior. The rear elevation is less ornate. Internally, partitions have been removed and the bar counter repositioned, and a WC room inserted into the front bar. However, the front bar retains cast iron Corinthian columns and a coffered plaster ceiling. Decorative tiling remains near the western entrance, and some behind-bar shelving is still in place. The former saloon to the rear retains an elaborate coffered ceiling with roof lights and an open stair with turned rails, leading to a large assembly room on the first floor—this room is believed to contain decorative plasterwork and pilasters. The building represents a rebuilding of an earlier inn. It reflects a late Victorian style, using a “streaky bacon” finish and drawing inspiration from Norman Shaw’s “Free Renaissance” style within an Italianate-Classical framework. The pub is a prominent landmark within a residential district, marking East Ham's late Victorian commercial period.