Shaftesbury Tavern, Upper Holloway

Built 1897 (on front) and restored in 2014 by Remarkable Restaurants Ltd (owners of the Salisbury, Green Lanes, N4). The main bar has what looks like the original curved two-sided bar counter with two different styles to the counter front. The L-shaped bar back appears original and the cornice at the top has been recently painted in gold as is the broken pediment and urns along the top. On the right it has two bays with mirrored backing to shelves but fridges have replaced the lower shelving. On the return are six bays (and there is a small corner bay) but is only mirrored panels in good wood surrounds with no shelving top or bottom. The back fitting on the left runs all the way to the wall of the rear room but the counter here stops well short so it seems to have been shortened at some point.

There are deep-cut and frosted exterior windows with ‘The Shaftesbury’ wording and some have replacements (or transfers?). There are two good vestibule entrances with more etched and frosted panels and a couple of short screens with an etched and frosted panel. Note the small section of decorative plasterwork on the ceiling at the corner. The floor is part wood and some black and white marble tiles laid diagonally, possibly as part of the 2014 refurbishment.

A double width doorway in a shallow arched partition leads to what may have been the billiard room (?) with a round-ended skylight. This room has a black and white marble floor laid diagonally (in 2014?) and has a good carved wood surround fireplace with modern cast-iron interior and a bevelled mirror in the overmantel. There are four pilasters on the walls painted black with capitals in gold. There are three modern seating bays on the right.

Hidden away in a hallway (now private access to the accommodation) on the far right is the tiled wall of the original vestibule entrance. It has floor-to-ceiling tiling including above the dado tiled panels either side of a large plain mirror and some tiles are in relief including some cherubs.