Paxtons Head

Paxton’s Head is a public house built between 1900 and 1902 by G. D. Martin as part of the Park Mansions development. The building is constructed of red brick with stone dressings, with the first floor painted. The ground floor facade is timber and glass, featuring larvikite pilasters. The roof is a slate-hung Mansard, with a red brick stack straddling the roof angle.

The pub has a single ground floor bar, originally divided into sections but now featuring an island servery. A corridor and staircase lead off to the right, and there is an assembly room on the first floor. The exterior is seven storeys high. A central entrance is framed by a large fanlight and flanked by two-light, four-centre-headed windows. A further entrance is located on the far right. The first floor has pairs of four-centre-headed windows with small panes in the heads, and a central two-light square-headed window. The second, third and fourth storeys have three-sided bay windows framing central two-light windows. The fifth storey features broad segmental headed windows framing a two-light window. The sixth floor presents a 2-1-2 square-headed window configuration. Dormers are incorporated into the attic storey.

Inside the bar, plain and etched glass mirrors are set within square and semi-circular heads, rising to the full height of the room. The island servery has curved ends and a fielded panel counter front, with a contemporary bar back featuring ornate detail. A large gantry, likely from the mid-18th century, sits above the counter. The ceiling incorporates two different Lincrusta patterns, with foliage trails at the front and geometrical designs at the back. A fireplace with a corbelled-out overmantel is located to the rear left. The corridor is also extensively mirrored. The staircase to the first and second floors has flat, pierced cast iron balusters, with two brass light fittings on the half-landing to the first floor. The assembly room has a cast iron grill inscribed "David Wilson & Co. 77 Lever Street, London EC," with floral tiled borders, timber panelling to the window jambs, and a marble fireplace.

The site has been a licensed premise since at least 1632, originally known as the King's Head. From the 1760s, it was known as the Granby's Head or the Marquis of Granby's Head. It was rebuilt between 1851 and 1853 and took the present name. The building is notable for retaining its original usage within a larger modern development and represents a fine example of an ornate pub from around 1900, complete with its original island servery and many contemporary fittings.