Vanished roads and vintage ghosts in a London pub

Walking around London and suddenly stumbling upon a pub in a cobbled lane and told a timeless tale and of unwritten toasts can convince anyone of the sort of spell that this city can cast over anyone. Our spooky encounter with unwritten histories in a hidden pub happened a few years back during one of our visits to London. We were following a suggested walk that took us around Belgravia in 2014 and it was near Wilton Row that we unraveled the secrets and the untold legends of the grenadier.

Wilton Row is a quiet, narrow mews behind grand townhouses and shielded by leafy Belgravia. Most tourists and even those who might have attempted to walk and discover, as we often do, are prone to wander right past The Grenadier without ever knowing it was there. This place is aptly described as the most hidden pub of London. Not the spookiest though as London has over a hundred of them claiming to be haunted. This city with all its misty streets, ancient alleyways, and centuries old buildings, is one that is built upon layers of history… and history comes with hauntings. I have read terribly spooky names of pubs here and can imagine the eeriness of entering ‘The Ten Bells’ or ‘The Viaduct Tavern’ or ‘The Spaniard’. In comparison ‘The Grenadiers’ sounds quite unlike an intoxicated ghost.

Even the approach to ‘The Grenadiers’ feels secretive — you turn off a more obvious street, you drift through a residential corner, and suddenly, like a ghost from another time, it appears: a small, whitewashed building with a proud red guard’s sentry box by the door. I remember we had to push open a creaky gate inside a garden to step into that quiet lane. It was literally a case of one road vanishing and another magically appearing once a person opens that gate. At that moment we felt the elation of a discoverer as we victoriously marched fearlessly towards this pub.

“Do we go in?” asked Specky with a slight tremor in her voice.

It did look as if time was waiting for us to enter and come face-to-face with a secret. It was a magical moment. It was as if time was challenging us in a whispered voice, “Are you curious enough to enter a place where history lingers?”

“Yes,” I said, and added, “That cute lantern outside the door of this pub is inviting us in.”

The bartender smiled and welcomed us in. When we asked, he was only too willing to tell us about the spirit of a young soldier from The Grenadiers Guard who was caught cheating at cards and was allegedly beaten to death by his comrades. “Visitors sometimes pin money to the ceiling in hopes of helping to pay off the soldier’s debts,” he added, pointing towards the ceiling. We opened the menu card and read about the history of the link of this place with The Grenadier Guard Regiment that celebrated its 350th anniversary in 2006. That page also told us that “in 1656, Lord Wentworth’s Regiment was formed in the Spanish Netherlands, forming a portion of exiled King Charles II’s bodyguard. A few years later, a similar regiment known as John Russell’s Regiment of Guards was formed. In 1665, these two regiments were combined to form the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards. As a result of their heroic actions in fighting off the French grenadiers at Waterloo, the 1st Guards were renamed by Royal proclamation as the 1st or Grenadier Regiment or Foot Guards, thus becoming the only regiment in the British Army to be named for one of its battle honours”.

I pointed out the name of Lord Wentworth and asked Specky, “Is Wentworth college in University of York linked to Lord Wentworth?”

She wasn’t aware of this link but this fact did compel us to sit there and give a hundred Rupee note to help the ghost of that soldier repay his debt.

The Grenadier also has a reputation for serving good traditional British fare, such as hearty pies, beef Wellington, and a well-poured pint of ale. It’s a favorite not just with tourists, but also with locals — and even a few royals and celebrities over the years. Therefore, we too had our pints.

As we sipped their ale, we read about another interesting snippet. Their menu has rephrased the words and lines in St George’s Day poem to link their ale to their tale:

One pewter bar and ivory hand pumps
Our St George’s Day party will come up trumps

At The Grenadier lies the tale
Of Greene King’s famous Abbot Ale

Before mounting his steed and slaying the Dragon
St George drank strong ale by the flagon

Those who are unaware of what St George’s Day is all about, it falls on 23 April each year and celebrates St George, the patron saint of England. This fellow is the figure of courage, honour, and chivalry and a legendary dragon-slayer who later became a symbol of English strength and spirit. This pub, linked to The Grenadiers and a lot of military history and old world patriotism, consider St George’s Day more than just a date.

“Well, that is why our menu has so many references to St George,” said the bartender, and then offered us the text of the traditional St George’s Day poem:

The English rose, the English fight, 
The English heart that holds the light. 
Raise up your voice, your tankard high, 
For George who fought, for George who died. 
The dragon fell, the land was saved, 
And on this day, we sing his name. 
O valiant heart, O steadfast flame — 
We drink today to England’s name.

We had found that hidden gate in the garden to step into this alleyway and came face-to-face with a small and spooky part of British military history… and were about to toast across time.
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Arvind Passey
Uploaded on 25 April 2025
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