The Black Friar - London, England
N 51° 30.717 W 000° 06.226
30U E 700963 N 5710735
The Black Friar pub is located in a flatiron building in the Blackfriars area of London, England.
Waymark Code: WMEPCE
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 06/22/2012
Views: 12
"This narrow wedge-shaped pub is jammed against the railway line at Blackfriars. It was built in 1875 near the site of a thirteenth century Dominican Priory, which gives the area its name and was the inspiration for the pubs design.
The exterior of the building has jutting wrought iron signs for each bar and the pub's name is proudly displayed in mosaic tiles. A statue of a large, laughing friar stands guard above the main door."
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"Built around 1875, the Black Friar took its name from the Dominican Friary that existed in the area between c1278 and c1538. Located on a triangular site across the road from Blackfriars tube station, the pub underwent a remodelling in 1905 by the then-publican Alfred Pettitt and his architect H Fuller-Clark. It was unusual for a pub to undergo refurbishment during that time as the London pub market had crashed and bankruptcies were more common.
The Art Nouveau Grade II listed pub is decorated throughout with jovial friars eating, drinking and enjoying themselves. They are made from a variety of copper, plaster and marble (around 50 types or marble are employed). The friars are featured in a variety of scenes including them singing carols, collecting fish and eels and gardening. Outside there are beautiful metal signs indicating the location of the Saloon Bar, a statue above the door and a fair sized seating area.
Beer and Food
The pub is owned by Nicholsons and as such there is a good selection of beers – around 8 are available at any one time. On tap when I visited was Doombar, Timothy Taylor Landlord, 6X London Pride plus 4 others. Also available are premium lagers such as Peroni, Staropramen and Amstel as well as Erdinger wheat beer.
As well as the usual pub grub they also have some interesting bar snacks such as mini fish and chips, mini toad in the hole, calamari, mni pies, mini pork pies and mini Cornish pasties. All are £1.95 each.
Visiting the Pub
The pub is open seven days a week from 10am. It gets very busy during weekday lunchtimes and early evenings so it’s advisable to visit during the quieter times when you are able to relax with a beer and spend time viewing the pub."
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