The Widow's Son Public House is a Grade II* listed building in the Tower Hamlets local planning authority area, England. First listed on 23 October 1974. Public house. 11 related planning applications.

The Widow's Son Public House

WRENN ID
second-cornice-burdock
Grade
II*
Local Planning Authority
Tower Hamlets
Constituency
Poplar and Limehouse MP: Apsana Begum (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
23 October 1974
Type
Public house
Address
The Widow's Son Public House, 75, Devons Road E3, E3 3PJ
OS grid reference
TQ 376 822
Coordinates
51.52225, -0.01798
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: EPC · related consents · flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Widow's Son Public House is located at the corner of Devon Road and Shepperds Street. It dates from the early 19th century and features a mid-Victorian public house interior. The building is two storeys high with five windows and has a pebbledash finish. It includes corner piers, a band, and a blocking course. The first floor has glazing bar sash windows, while the ground floor features a pilastered public house front with three fluted fascia brackets. The fascia, supported by Corinthian capitals of the pilasters, has a moulded cornice. There is a plate glass window with fretted cast-iron vents in the heads and a tiled plinth. The return to Shepperd Street has two windows above a wide pilastered public house front that matches the Devon Road front, with similar Corinthian capitals. The building continues for two storeys with six windows and two doors.

Inside, the pub retains nearly all of its fittings from around the 1870s, including engraved mirrors, decorated panels on the pilasters, gilt capitals, and glass-fronted cabinets displaying assorted china. There are ornamental lettered panels that read: "Importer and Bonder of choice Foreign Cigars: The Widow's Son. Family Wine, Spirit and Malt Liquor Establishment," among others. Many glass surfaces feature transfer patterns. The cornice includes an egg and dart motif, and there is a nine pins or skittled stone base behind the bar with engraved numerals. Hanging buns and a sailor's hat over the bar reference the legend of the Widow's Son.

Local climate

The Widow's Son Public House sits in one of the driest parts of the UK, with an average of 690 mm of rain a year. This makes it drier than 96% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is lower than that of 99% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 34 freeze-thaw cycles a year, more than 52% of listed buildings. Of these, 15 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

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  • Full EPC report — heating system, energy costs, size, glazing, construction etc.
  • No sale records on file
  • Related listed building consents — 11 applications
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
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