Fitzroy Tavern, London

The development of the Fitzroy Tavern as the heart of eponymous Fitzrovia goes back at least two generations, to that of Judah and Jane Kleinfeld who migrated from Polish Russia in the 1880s. A naturalised British subject, Judah and his family lived in Phoenix Street, off Charing Cross Road. Judah was a master tailor in Saville Row counting among his clients the future King of the Belgians, and a leading member of the West End Jewish community. His greatcoat making business in WWI took him along Tottenham Court Road and into Windmill Street where on the corner stood the Hundred Marks, which pre-war had been in the heart of one of London's main German quarters. Nearby Charlotte Street was the main artery, known as Charlottenstrasse, and famous for its German restaurants and clubs. Judah decided to become a licensee, apparently regarded as a natural second career in his native Poland, and his personality and determination had persuaded brewers Hoare and Co. to let him take on the tenancy of the Hundred Marks. His business partner, not a British subject, could not join him in this new venture. Instead Judah's 15 year old daughter Annie, despite a successful school career and ambitions, was prevailed upon to assist him in the new business - the renamed Fitzroy Tavern that opened under its new guvnor and name in March 1919. The area north of Oxford Street had been associated with artists writers and musicians since it was developed in the latter part of the 18th century. John Constable was a famous resident in the 1820s and 1830s, and others were inspired or lived in the area including George Bernard Shaw, James McNeill Whistler, and Walter Sickert. A developing cosmopolitan and Bohemian community of struggling artists, immigrants, writers, poets, composers and sculptors responded with some enthusiasm to the outgoing and enthusiastic new licensee known as 'Pop', and the Tavern was more usually known as Kleinfeld's or Klein's. Many of the traditions, decorations, and customs developed over those years including an annual Derby Day outing, when Pop would hire a coach to take them and a party of customers to Epsom. It was on one of these in 1933 that Annie met and eventually fell in love with Charles Allchild, their coach driver. They married in 1934 and Charles became such an essential part of the running of the pub that soon he and Annie took over as joint licensees, with Pop and his wife Jane retiring to Hove, holding sway over the next decades of change and war. Though the golden age may have been the 1920s and 1930s, the Allchilds through the Blitz had made the Fitzroy into the 'Rendezvous of the World'. The cooling post-war ushered in a different era, and the death of Pop Kleinfeld in 1947. In the mid-50s the legal battle that became known as 'The Battle of the Fitzroy' while ultimately a victory for the Allchilds led to their own decision to bow out in 1956. And the Fitzroy entered a new era - still giving successive generations a great deal of pleasure and satisfaction, while all around has changed. More than just a London public house, it was a convivial heart of the area for over 37 years offering kindness, humanity, and good fellowship. It remains an essential part of our history, and continues to welcome locals, regulars and visitors alike.