One of my top ten pubs
31 Endell Street, WC2H 9BA
Nearest tube: Covent Garden 0.1 miles
Nearest attraction: Covent Garden Market 0.3 miles
Historical interest: 6/10
Cosiness quotient: 9/10
Going over the top at the Cross Keys, Covent Garden
The hook
Despite its Covent Garden position, the Cross Keys has a “village inn meets parish church” appeal with its stone arches, gilded pillars, Victorian figurework and over-the-top floral displays. These incongruous touches will undoubtedly catch your eye and tempt you to find out what further delights the pub has to offer inside.
The history
EST: 1848. Monarch: Victoria
The plethora of memorabilia inside the Cross Keys has sparked much speculation about its history. How did that bust of John Lennon come to be here, for instance? And why does the pub have a napkin signed by Elvis in its possession? Did these legends of rock once pop into the Cross Keys for a quick pint and leave something behind to remember them by? Highly unlikely: it is far more probable that these items were bought at auction by an erstwhile landlord.
In fact very little is known about the history of the Cross Keys which has quietly plied its trade at 31 Endell Street for more than 150 years. But one thing is certain: history was definitely happening across the road at number 36.
Everyone knows the pivotal role played by the suffragettes in winning Britain’s women the vote. Their campaign earned them much acclaim – but also, criticism for some of the dodgier methods they used which included arson and bombing. However, between 1915 and 1919 a small band of suffragettes in Endell Street proved to be very much a force for good.
When the First World War broke out in 1914, many women wanted to support the war effort but were given short shrift by male recruiters who told them to go home and resume their domestic duties. But no war was ever won by washing-up, so a handful of women refused this advice – among them Flora Murray and Louise Garrett Anderson. Both were suffragettes, and also qualified doctors.
They wanted to set up a military hospital and treat wounded soldiers, but were met with strong resistance by the Royal Army Medical Corps. Not to be deterred, they gained permission from the French Embassy to set up a hospital in France. But by January 1915 the wounded soldiers were being rerouted to England and the French hospital was closed down. So Murray and Anderson had another go at pleading their case to the British authorities.
This time they were begrudgingly given leave to open a hospital in Endell Street on the site of a former workhouse – just across the road from the Cross Keys. Military chiefs (all men) were sceptical about the women’s abilities to run a hospital, one colonel predicting that it would close down in six months.
But the Endell Street facility was a huge success, clocking up 26,000 patients and upwards of 7,000 medical procedures in its five-year existence. The injured military must have thought they had died and gone to heaven when waking up in a hospital that was manned – or more accurately, womanned – entirely by female doctors and nurses. And those little feminine touches such as flowers, bright colours and warm lighting turned out to be a source of much comfort for the shell-shocked patients.
It is not known what part the Cross Keys played in this drama, or whether any of the patients popped across the road for a drink after being discharged. Sadly, Britain’s pubs struggled after WW1 due to a rise in alcohol prices, shorter opening hours and a drive towards sobriety. A bit of a shame, really – the collective morale of the wartime generation might have been bucked up no end by a pie, a pint and a good old knees-up.
The ambiance
The cosy interior of the Cross Keys
The Cross Keys is a delight inside. The long, narrow interior typical of many London pubs works particularly well here – possibly because the space is filled with old photos, news cuttings, Beatles memorabilia and brass instruments. Meanwhile the warm decor, low lights and comfy seats make this one of those pubs where you plonk yourself down with a drink and find yourself uttering an involuntary aaaaah of content.
The other stuff
Memorabilia galore
Brewery/chain: Free house
Open: 11am to 11pm Monday to Saturday, 12.00 to 10.30pm Sunday
Food: From 12.00 to 2.30pm Monday to Saturday, 12pm to 3pm on Sundays
The pub basics – ie a good range of beers, a warm welcome and friendly bar staff – are abundantly present at the Cross Keys. The food is pretty much of the pie-and-sandwich variety although traditional roasts are served on Sundays. Despite its central London position this is very much a locals’ pub – and all the better for it. Cracking.
http://www.crosskeyscoventgarden.com/index.html
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Visit: King Who? for more info about the monarchs mentioned in this blog.
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Where London's history happened - in the pub 