A historic Chelsea pub on CAMRA’s National Inventory, a real inter-war time-warp with a 1930s interior, now owned and beautifully restored by singer James Blunt
The Fox and Pheasant holds eleven hundred and eighty-eight reviews and an excellent 4.6 – a genuinely superb score on a good sample – and it is a genuine historic treasure: a Chelsea pub on CAMRA’s National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors, a real inter-war time-warp with a 1930s interior, now owned and beautifully restored by the singer James Blunt.
The historic time-warp
The Fox and Pheasant is a genuine historic treasure – one of Britain’s finest surviving heritage pubs. It sits at 1 Billing Road, in a private, gated-off road close to Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium, and the building has genuinely deep roots (built around 1846-48 on land acquired by Edward Gingell – the odd curved section of its frontage reputedly deriving from a wrangle over the land). It was originally the Bedford Arms, then the Prince of Wales, and was renamed the Fox and Pheasant in 1965. But its true glory is its interior: it was fully refitted around 1930, and that inter-war interior remains largely unchanged today – a genuine “real inter-war time-warp.” There is genuine and remarkable heritage here – the mid-19th-century origins, the intact 1930s interior, the rare surviving time-warp. It is a genuine historic gem – the beautifully-preserved inter-war pub, a rare and precious survivor.
The National Inventory
The Fox and Pheasant holds a genuine and rare distinction: it is on CAMRA’s National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors – indeed a “Two Star” pub, denoting an interior of very special national historic interest. This is a genuinely elite designation – reserved for the tiny handful of British pubs whose interiors have survived largely intact and are of real national heritage importance. There is real heritage significance here – the National Inventory Two-Star listing, the interior of very special national historic interest, the rare and precious survival. The interior is a genuine delight – a small lobby with an off-sales hatch, a saloon bar, a servery with glazed spirit-and-glass areas, attractive dimpled green-banded glass, and delightful inter-war tables and chairs with raked and curved legs, all typical of run-of-the-mill (and now rare) between-the-wars pub-fitting. There is genuine heritage and charm to it – the National Inventory listing, the intact 1930s fittings, the rare and precious historic interior. It is a genuine national treasure.
The James Blunt restoration
The Fox and Pheasant carries a genuinely delightful modern chapter: in 2017 it was sold by Greene King and bought by the singer James Blunt (of “You’re Beautiful” fame). It underwent a major and careful restoration and reopened on 27 June 2018 – and the restoration was done with genuine respect for the pub’s precious historic interior, preserving its National Inventory character while restoring it beautifully. The Prat’s desk records the celebrity ownership with due deadpan appreciation – the historic time-warp pub, lovingly saved and restored by a pop star. Today it is a genuinely superb pub – the beautifully-restored historic interior, classic English fare, a warm welcome, and a lovely private-road Chelsea setting. There is real quality and charm to it – the historic National Inventory interior, the beautiful James Blunt restoration, the classic English food, the warm welcome. Its excellent 4.6 across a good sample confirms it – a genuinely superb, much-loved historic pub. There is real history, quality and charm in the whole thing.
Between its rare inter-war time-warp interior, its elite CAMRA National Inventory Two-Star listing, and its beautiful restoration by owner James Blunt, the Fox and Pheasant is a genuine historic treasure of Chelsea. Its excellent score across a good sample marks it as a genuinely superb and much-loved pub. The Prat’s desk enjoys a pint amid the beautifully-preserved 1930s fittings, salutes James Blunt’s careful stewardship, and raises a historic glass to the Fox and Pheasant.
The pub
An excellent, much-loved historic pub doing a superb 4.6 across a good sample – the Fox and Pheasant, a CAMRA National Inventory inter-war time-warp near Stamford Bridge, owned by James Blunt.
Verdict
Excellent, much-loved, and a genuine historic treasure – the Fox and Pheasant, a rare inter-war time-warp beautifully restored by James Blunt.
Enjoy a pint amid the beautifully-preserved 1930s interior at the Fox and Pheasant near Stamford Bridge – a rare CAMRA National Inventory time-warp pub, owned and restored by singer James Blunt.
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]
