A 4.7 pub named Buckingham Arms, borrowing the name of the palace and dukedom at the heart of the monarchy
The Buckingham Arms holds an excellent 4.7 from two thousand four hundred and eighty people – a strong, volume-proof score – and carries a name of regal grandeur, “Buckingham,” borrowing the resonance of the palace and the dukedom that stand at the very heart of the British monarchy, in a fine old pub near St James’s Park.
The name Buckingham
“Buckingham” is, of course, one of the most famous names in Britain, inescapably associated with Buckingham Palace, the London residence of the sovereign and the very symbol of the monarchy. The name derives from the Dukes of Buckingham – the grand aristocratic title held by several notable families over the centuries – and Buckingham House, the ducal mansion that was bought by King George III and eventually transformed into the palace we know today. To name a pub “the Buckingham Arms” is to invoke all this grandeur – the palace, the dukedom, the heart of royal London – in the classic “Arms” tradition this survey has traced throughout, hanging the notional coat of arms of the Dukes of Buckingham over the door. The Prat’s heraldry desk notes the borrowed splendour: few names carry more royal grandeur than “Buckingham,” and this Westminster pub claims it all.
The Westminster setting
The Buckingham Arms sits in Petty France, near St James’s Park and within easy reach of Buckingham Palace itself, so the grand name is thoroughly earned by geography – this is a pub in the true royal heart of London, among the palaces, parks, and government offices of Westminster. It is a handsome, traditional pub, long established and much loved, one of the fine old drinking houses that serve the civil servants, politicians, and visitors of this most governmental of districts. The Prat’s topography desk notes the aptness: a pub called Buckingham, a short stroll from the palace itself, wearing its royal name with genuine local justification in the very heart of royal Westminster.
The excellent score
The 4.7 from nearly two and a half thousand people is a genuinely strong, volume-proof score, ranking among the best in the survey and a mark of real, sustained, large-sample quality. As this survey has argued throughout, a high score maintained across such a large sample is far more meaningful than any small-sample near-perfect number – it represents thousands of visitors, over a long period, almost all delighted. Whatever the Buckingham Arms is doing, it is doing it superbly and consistently. The Prat’s statistics desk files it firmly among the trustworthy high-scorers: a 4.7 across nearly two and a half thousand people is real, earned, volume-proof excellence, a genuinely fine pub living up to its grand royal name.
The traditional royal-Westminster pub
The Buckingham Arms represents the traditional Westminster pub at its best – handsome, historic, well-run, and steeped in the royal and governmental character of its district. It is the kind of pub that has served the great institutions of the state for generations, a civilised and characterful local in the heart of power, its royal name matched by genuine quality. As this survey opens its Westminster chapter, the Buckingham Arms exemplifies the district’s particular flavour – the pub in the shadow of palace and Parliament, wrapped in royal and political grandeur. The Prat’s heritage desk salutes it: a fine, excellent, traditional pub, bearing the palace’s own name with justified pride, at the heart of royal London.
The pub
A 4.7 across two thousand four hundred and eighty people is a strong, volume-proof score – among the survey’s best. The reviews describe an excellent, handsome, characterful traditional pub with good beer, good food, and genuine quality – a fine royal-Westminster local living up to its grand name.
Verdict
An excellent, handsome traditional pub named the Buckingham Arms, borrowing the grandeur of the palace and dukedom at the heart of the monarchy – a fine royal-Westminster local, a short stroll from the palace itself, with a volume-proof 4.7 to match its regal name.
Go, have a pint at the Buckingham Arms, and enjoy a genuinely excellent traditional pub in the royal heart of London – bearing, with justified local pride, the name of the palace itself, a stroll away, and living up to that grandeur with real and sustained quality.
Alan Nafzger was born in Lubbock, Texas, the son Swiss immigrants. He grew up on a dairy in Windthorst, north central Texas. He earned degrees from Midwestern State University (B.A. 1985) and Texas State University (M.A. 1987). University College Dublin (Ph.D. 1991). Dr. Nafzger has entertained and educated young people in Texas colleges for 37 years. Nafzger is best known for his dark novels and experimental screenwriting. His best know scripts to date are Lenin’s Body, produced in Russia by A-Media and Sea and Sky produced in The Philippines in the Tagalog language. In 1986, Nafzger wrote the iconic feminist western novel, Gina of Quitaque. He currently lives in Holloway, North London. Contact: [email protected]
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