It seems that pubs are being refurbished every five minutes, usually with the removal of plaster to expose brick work or the needless addition of white tiles to the bar back. Something similar has been happening in Uxbridge. The Slug & Lettuce became the Miller’s Tap after a reported £275k refurbishment resulting in some exposed brickwork although the white tiles are restricted to the supporting columns! The revamp of the Fig Tree includes both white tiles and bricks behind the bar. The Metropolitan has now become a Tavern following £250k being spent on it. Greene King would only reveal that the amount spent on the Swan & Bottle was in six figures but it has seen the bar moved from the restaurant end of the pub back to its rightful place at the front. Meanwhile the Load of Hay has thankfully reopened with a new tenant, some changes to the bar and a much needed deep clean!
Back in 2005 the Crown & Treaty was described in CAMRA’s West London Pub Guide as follow. “Apart from an old fireplace, the interior of the downstairs room has been completely removed. The public section is one open-plan area decorated in a smart but modern style and bereft of any old world atmosphere.” Until it closed in May 2018 the establishment was best known as a live music venue.
Place House was built in the early 16th Century. In 1645 it was owned by Sir John Bennett and used for meetings between Royalist and Parliamentary representatives negotiating the abortive Treaty of Uxbridge, thereby becoming known as the Treaty House. By 1789 the building was in its present form, having been reduced in size to a single wing as a result of the Oxford Road widening to accommodate increasing coaching traffic and the property was converted into a coaching inn. By 1816 the house had become the Crown Inn, an earlier ‘Crown’ near the market having been demolished.
The panelling in the Treaty Room and principal room on the first floor was sold and exported to the USA, where it was reconfigured to fit out an office suite in the Empire State Building. Happily, it was gifted back to HM the Queen in 1953, after which it was restored to the rooms at the Crown & Treaty.
The pub recently reopened upon the completion of an extended refurbishment. It now boasts a new conservatory bar (with retractable roof), a visible kitchen, and the historic upstairs rooms are once again open to the public either as extra restaurant capacity or can be booked for functions. The Grade II*-listed pub is now run by the Old Spot Pub Company (an Ei Group managed partnership) who also operate the Star of the East in Poplar and the Palmerston in East Dulwich. The company likes to source locally so there are up to four real ales from Fuller’s, Rebellion and Windsor & Eton. They offer CAMRA members a 10% discount. The food menu is traditional English with dishes including steak and ale pie, beer battered fish and chips, burgers and steaks. Tuesday is quiz night and Wednesdays offer live Jazz or Soul music.
Dave Ford, Director at Old Spot Pub Company, said, “Old Spot pubs are welcoming places designed with the local community in mind. We’re delighted to be adding the Crown & Treaty to our portfolio; it’s a pub with an incredibly rich heritage that has served the immediate community for centuries. We’ve placed great effort and attention to detail in lovingly restoring the site, and we’re immensely excited to launch the hidden garden area, complete with a new bar room over the coming weeks. We firmly believe that pubs should be warm community-centric spaces people visit with family, friends and loved ones to enjoy memorable moments.”
As can be seen from the photograph the wood panelling in the upstairs rooms has been carefully restored. The bar is warm and welcoming. Much is made of the pubs history in pictures and text on the walls and the overall feel is as far removed as you can get from our review in 2005!
You will find the Crown & Treaty at 90 Oxford Road, UB8 1LU. It is a five minute walk from the tube station, almost opposite the above mentioned Swan & Bottle. It is open daily from 8am (for breakfast) until 11pm (1am Friday and Saturday). The website is crownandtreaty.com. With this one, the award winning Queen’s Head and the other pubs mentioned above, Uxbridge is now definitely worth a visit!
Roy Tunstall