The London Walker

Ah, the magical pleasure of supping a beer in a good old London boozer. There are so many glorious and fabulous pubs in London that we are truly spoilt for choice. At any one time it is estimated that there are between 3,500 and 4,000 licensed properties operating in the city.

While many pubs are sadly closing, it seems that as one closes its doors, another magically opens. With the diverse explosion of microbreweries, you’re never far away from a little cosy spot which serves the frothy brown stuff. From historic taverns, coaching inns to trendy modern gastropubs, London has some of the best pubs in the world. As we approach the holiday season, I thought it high time to explore a couple of the old boozers I have long frequented, know, and love, and to examine their history and folklore.

It’s truly difficult to know where to start. You know – what’s your favourite pub, and on what basis do you judge it?

Last time, it was the Hand and Shears in Smithfield. This time, I’m choosing another traditional pub, but from a very different part of town. The Grenadier, tucked away in a mews off Belgrave Square in Knightsbridge. An absolutely marvellous boozer with a fine selection of ales and some serious food to boot. It is the very quintessence of quintessential: a gem of a place, and a pretty good bit of history has happened here.

First and foremost, you deserve a good slap on the back, a firm handshake, and a pint to celebrate actually finding this pub. It hides down a narrow, cobble-stone mews with connecting passageways leading away to Hyde Park Corner. There’s an old crooked street lamp, a guards box, plenty of hanging baskets, and trails of wisteria creeping along the walls. It’s immediately charming and wonderful, heightened as you walk up the time worn stone steps which lead to the bright red front door. Belgravia isn’t the part of town I usually frequent, but I was recommended this place by none other than my dad, a fine connoisseur of boozers and I’m incredibly pleased to have made its acquaintance, as it’s a fabulous pub.

The Grenadier has a long history dating back to 1720. It was originally part of a large barracks and constructed as the officers’ mess for the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards. Originally formed in 1656 during the English Civil War the Regiment fought all across the world, at Blenheim under Marlborough, they then served in America during the War of Independence, before defeating Napoleon’s army on the bloody fields of Waterloo.

The regiment played a key role during the Battle of Waterloo, namely in defending the critical Hougoumont Farm, then holding back and stopping the final last desperate charge by the French Imperial Guard, which included the elite Grenadiers. The regiment was granted the honour of bearing the title Grenadier Guards to commemorate this achievement. The regiment’s soldiers adopted a flaming grenade as their badge and the distinctive bearskin caps, similar to those worn by the defeated French grenadiers, which has become an iconic part of their ceremonial uniform and something we still see to this day.

The building became a licensed pub in 1818, initially named The Guardsman, but following the regiment’s renaming after Waterloo, the pub became The Grenadier. The interior is all lovely cosy old-world charm, theres a small bar lined with stools, behind is a dining room, much like the old officers mess and everywhere, across the walls, in narrow alcoves, there is military memorabilia – paintings and photographs, maps, regimental flags and faded portraits.

The ceiling is one of the most intriguing features. It is famously adorned with hundreds of banknotes from all around the world, pinned to the beams by visitors, all in order to pay off Cedric’s debt. Here, a hundred or so years ago, it is said that a young subaltern, by the name of Cedric, was once caught cheating at cards, and his comrades exacted such a brutal punishment that he ultimately succumbed to his injuries and died. It is said he haunts the pub to this day, a shadow across the bar, a faded figure in a corner. The staff talk about him in a free and friendly way, as if they are rather fond of him, and don’t mind him hanging around.

If ever you are in the area, do search it out, it’s a grand little pub with a big heart.