More about the Tabard

The Tabard in Chiswick contains some interesting original features dating back to Victorian times. Of note are the pub's original sign which was painted by pre-Raphaelite artist T M Rooke, and tiling inside the pub by William de Morgan and Walter Crane which can be seen in the front entrance and the right hand bar. This was one of the first of a new breed of pubs built in 1880 and designed by architect Norman Shaw to replicate the village pub as a reaction against the grandiose Victorian pub architecture of the time. The Tabard Inn was one of the public buildings put up on Jonathan Carr's new Bedford Park estate, a commuter garden suburb, and served as Bedford Park's pub, restaurant and hotel. That tradtion continues today with an excellent selection of real ales - proabably the best in London - and outside drinking terrace. It also offers live entertainment at the Tabard Theatre on the first floor, an intimate 79 seat theatre where high quality fringe productions are staged and comedians like Al Murray, Harry Hill and Russell Brand have performed.