Eastbrook, Dagenham

For quality and completeness this is the finest 1930s pub in London and, indeed, one of the best anywhere. It retains its original layout with separate rooms boasting some of the most magnificent wood-panelled walls to be seen anywhere.

It was built in 1937 for G A Smith & Sons, wine merchants and off-sales proprietors, whose name is still in evidence, notably on the former off-licence. The architecture makes considerable play of panels of brick alternating with render, and hipped roofs with pantile coverings. The left-hand projection makes the building decidedly asymmetrical. There are two separate bars known as the Oak Bar (right) and the Walnut Bar (centre) plus a left-hand projection known as the Music Room.

The elegant neo-Georgian Walnut Bar is named for the wood used for the counter, the panelling and elsewhere. The bar-back is original and has slender paired columns and wavy Art Deco decoration in the rear mirrors. The appearance of the counter front is enlivened by a bold circular design in its central panel. Massive square pillars topped with mighty corbels frame the opening to the servery and support high level screens. There are fluted Tuscan columns to either side of the window bay and original radiator covers below the windows. The ceiling is coffered.

The rustic neo-Tudor Oak Bar (so-called for obvious reasons) is plainer and played public bar to the Walnut’s saloon. So we have encased beams to imitate sturdy timbers, exposed joists, Tudor arches in the servery area and much wall panelling. There’s a Tudor-arched fireplace. The counter and bar-back fittings are original but perhaps the most remarkable survivors are the half dozen glass and metal light fittings. The Music Room, separated from the Walnut Bar by a folding screen, has a stage and a proscenium of wooden, fluted Tuscan columns, which frame a set of eight vivid stained glass windows depicting a variety of musical instruments. There is walnut panelling and a coffered ceiling; the size of the room can be varied by a folding glazed screen.

This is a truly remarkable survivor which will repay the trek out to see it. Grade II listed in 2010 following an application by CAMRA.