115 Charterhouse Street
Farringdon
London
EC1M 6AA
020 7250 1300
The Fox and Anchor has a stunning tiled exterior right up to roof level, where the gable displays the date it was built, 1898 (photos 1 & 2). The tiling was designed by ceramic sculptor William James Neatby, working at that time for Doulton and Co of Lambeth, who manufactured the tiling. The art nouveau design can be best seen in the tiled Fox & Anchor panels in the entrance lobbies at each side of the pub (photo 6).
Inside there is a long narrow room with a rare pewter-topped bar counter (photo 3) and three tiny wood panelled snugs at the far end (photos 4 & 5).
The pub is right next to the old Smithfield Meat Market and the pub was famously one of two or three which opened at 6.30am with a full licence for market porters. When I worked in the area a friend and I once went for a pint before work just because we could.
The pub still has an early licence but now opens at 7.00am and is famous for its breakfasts. Food is available all day, and as you might expect with its location next to Smithfield, steaks are a feature. The Fox and Anchor is a Young’s pub but a range of other cask ales are available too. It’s also a hotel with six bedrooms above the pub “with the luxury of modern technology, coupled with quirky and traditional decor”.
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