Last October (2022 – see note) I took myself up to the city to visit yet another Good Beer Guide pub that I had never visited plus a couple of others along the way. I took the train to Waterloo then the Drain to Bank. From the station I headed north along Princess Street and Coleman Street. It seemed strangely quiet, almost as if it was a Sunday, with hardly any traffic about. I was looking for an alleyway called Mason’s Avenue and the Olde Dr Butlers Head, a Shepherd Neame house. It has an old dark wooded frontage with three large wooden barrels outside and is Grade II listed. There has been a pub on this site since 1610 although this building dates from 1666 when, I recall, there was a bit of a fire. Dr Butler was the court physician to James the First.
Going inside, I found it very dark because of the dark woodwork. I almost needed a torch to see the pump clips. It isn’t very large but is on two levels. The small bar is on the first level and there is more seating up a few steps going to the rear. The floor is of rough varnished wood, there’s a mixture of high and low seating, wood panelled walls and a beamed ceiling. At the bar I had the choice of Master Brew, Spitfire, Autumn Red and Whitstable Bay. I went for the Master Brew at £5.05 and it was good. I had actually been to this pub twice before, back in 2007, when I had a pint of their Porter for £3.05, and in 2014 when I attended an invitation evening for CAMRA members for a talk on the history of Shepherd Neame and a tasting some of their ales. It was now twenty past four and getting reasonably busy so it was time to move on.
Carrying on in a northerly direction, crossing over London Wall, I got to Moorgate to find Keats at the Globe, previously called the Moorgate. This is an unusual set up because there are two pubs attached to each other, the other being the Grade II-listed Globe, around the corner. Keats is a small pub with a frontage of black woodwork. Inside, it’s long and narrow, going through to the next road and to an entrance to the Globe.
Both are owned by Nicholson’s (M&B). The Globe has a polished wood floor, upholstered leather benches and dark green walls. The bar was quite impressive with nine handpumps although mainly all with familiar brands, except one from Magic Rock and two ciders. I went for the house beer from St Austell for £5.50; it was good. Now it was five o’clock and getting busy, so obviously popular. I then moved on to my main target of the day, a GBG pub called Wood Street which, not surprisingly, is in Wood Street. It was formerly Crowders Well. It wasn’t too far to walk, taking some back streets surrounded by tower complexes, and, on the bend, is the pub, situated on the ground floor of a brick built tower block.
The front was quite plain, with pale blue paintwork and clear windows, but, going inside, it was surprisingly traditional and pleasant. There is an angled bar to one side, with a central rounded centrepiece. There is a wood floor, high and low seating and some nice seating bays separated by etched glass divisions. To the rear there is more seating where one can admire the water features in the Barbican’s garden area in the middle and there is also a cosy raised room. The walls are of light blue panelling, with leafy wallpaper above. The ceiling is low, with some tongue and groove wood planking. The bar sported six handpumps, serving beers from the likes of Redemption, Wild Card and East London Brewery. I went for Walthamstow Trust at £5.50. It was good but a touch on the cold side.
It was now six o’clock and busy enough so time to head back to the tube and Waterloo. Alas, the Waterloo Tap was hard to resist and a pint of Thornbridge Market Porter was a good ale to finish the day on and, at £4.40, very reasonable. The end to another interesting afternoon; only four pubs but it’s not often I go GBG hunting in the City.
Clive Taylor
Editor’s note: as the article is over a year old I checked WhatPub to make sure that the pubs are all still open which they are, although there may be other changes, not least to the prices. Clive has let me know that he has some health problems, so this may be his last article for a while. We send him our best wishes.