The Red Lion, Crown Passage, London 1972

A 1972 view of The Red Lion in Crown Passage, one of the West End’s most atmospheric surviving alleyway pubs. Crown Passage itself dates back to the 17th century, linking Pall Mall to King Street, and has long been lined with small shops, taverns and coffee houses serving courtiers, club members and office workers from nearby St James’s. The Red Lion is believed to have been established in the early 1800s and still retains much of its traditional, narrow-fronted character — etched windows, bow-fronted bar, and snug interior. In this photograph the pub carries Watney’s branding, a familiar sight across London in the 1960s and ’70s. Today the Red Lion continues to operate, making it one of the few pubs in central London to have traded for well over a century in virtually the same form, a little slice of old St James’s preserved amid the surrounding clubs and offices.