Cosy, until the ghost appears
There are some astonishing corners of London where the feeling of being in a throbbing capital city suddenly vanishes. One such place is in Belgravia, close to the roaring traffic of Knightsbridge. Leave the imposing stone façades of Wilton Crescent for the smaller Wilton Row, then turn left – and all at once a village scene confronts you. A 300-year-old pub beneath trees is painted in patriotic red, white and blue. The inn sign depicts a soldier in a bearskin cap, and a bright red sentry box stands to the left of the steps that lead up to the front door.
The Grenadier Guards, founded in 1656 as a bodyguard for King Charles II, were stationed in a barracks on this site until 1818. In that year, the officers’ mess was converted into a pub, and little has changed since. The bar in the wood-panelled room at the front has its original pewter top. In the Wellington Room behind, hearty pub meals are served. Photos, prints and newspaper cuttings on the walls celebrate military tradition and the pub itself: Grenadier Guards pose for a snapshot in front of Buckingham Palace, and an old print shows a Waterloo Dinner, the annual celebration of Napoleon’s defeat that was given by the Duke of Wellington for his comrades nearby in his London residence.
Info
Address 18 Wilton Row, SW1X 7NR | Public Transport Hyde Park Corner (Piccadilly Line) | Hours Mon–Sun noon–11pm, tel. 020/7235 3074 | Tip Apsley House (Hyde Park Corner, April–Oct Wed–Sun 11am–5pm, Nov–March Sat–Sun 10am–4pm) has a fine interior, an exquisite art collection and memorabilia from the first Duke of Wellington’s military career.
It is likely that the Duke himself drank here with his officers. Their carousals were not always marked by good behaviour. During one drinking bout, a subaltern is said to have been caught cheating at cards. His comrades beat him so savagely that he died on the cobblestones in front of the pub. More details are not known, but the incident is thought to have happened in September. In this month an icy chill is reported to haunt the building. Footsteps and groans can be heard, and a mysterious figure moves silently through the rooms. The banknotes that guests have signed and pinned to the ceiling of the front bar are meant to propitiate the ghost.
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