Prince Frederick, Bromley

There was a pub here called the Prince Frederick’s Head in 1761, just ten years after the death of the eponymous prince. The present building is Victorian and, importantly, it was revamped in the 1930s giving it the appealing character it has today. The two front bars were divided by a wall with a narrow pair of doors allowing access from one side to the other but this was removed in 2015 so the pub is now a series of areas. At one time there must have been an off-sales compartment between the two parts, as suggested by the now disused doorway in the frontage. Both parts have three-quarter height wall panelling and distinctive white Vitrolite ceiling panels.

On the left-hand side is an attractive dark blue tiled fire surround. The bar counters are plain match-boarded affairs and, as such, difficult to date (they might be later than the 1930s but it’s hard to see why they should have been replaced). The mainly modern bar-back, while of a distinct 1930s design the glazed advertising panels at the top are clearly modern in an old style. The rear part is a flat-roofed extension, no doubt, of the 1930s and also has extensive panelling which has been painted a ‘gastro grey’ colour in recent times and the interwar fireplace blocked-up. The small bar counter front is painted a ‘gastro grey’ colour; there seems to have been some opening up in this area.