The Champion, Wells Street Explained

The Champion, public house
Location:	City of Westminster, England
Coordinates:	51.5164°N 0.1372°W
Awards:	Listed as Grade II by Historic England

The Champion is a 19th-century public house in Wells Street in the Fitzrovia area of the City of Westminster, London. It is notable for the presence of stained glass windows and a snob screen, a Victorian feature preserved to the present day in only a few pubs.^{[1] [2] [3]}

The building in Grade II listed. It was built around 1860 to 1870 of gault brick with stucco dressings and a slate roof. Historic England comment on its "lively classical detailing". It was refitted by architects John Robson Reid and Sylvia Reid in the 1950s following a competition in Architectural Review.^[4]

The stained glass windows in the pub are a more recent feature, and were designed by Ann Sotheran, commissioned by Samuel Smith Old Brewery when they purchased the pub in the 1980s.^[5] CAMRA's WhatPub guide lists the pub as an outstanding example of restoration.^[6]

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Champion . 2024-04-20 . Londonist.
2. Web site: February 24, 2021 . The Champion . 2024-04-20 . Atlas Obscura . en.
3. Web site: admin . 2022-05-22 . The Champion Pub and Oxford Market . 2024-04-20 . A London Inheritance . en-US.
4. https://www.architecture.com/image-library/ribapix/image-information/poster/the-champion-public-house-wells-street-fitzrovia-london-the-bar-counter-with-modern-fixtures/posterid/RIBA44891.html The Champion public house, Wells Street, Fitzrovia, London: the bar counter with modern fixtures.
5. Book: Sullivan, Edward . Evening Standard London Pub Bar Guide 1999 S S Int . 1998 . Simon and Schuster . 978-0-684-86840-0 . 39 . en.
6. Web site: Champion, London . 2024-04-20 . whatpub.com.