Judith Baker and her friend discover the cultural and culinary treasures in this area of London with its strong literary history
The Bloomsbury Group, famed for their intellectualism and free thinking lifestyles, lived in the early 20th century and included such luminaries as Virginia Woolf, DH Lawrence, Augustus John and Lytton Strachey. These and many others were contemporaries of the rather alarming Lady Ottoline Morrell, full name Lady Ottoline Violet Anne Morrell, an eccentric aristocrat and patron of the arts.
Her biographer Miranda Seymour writes “Ottoline’s appearance was legendarily idiosyncratic. She spoke in a weird, nasal, cooing, sing-song drawl. Her amazing looks were at once sexy and grotesque: she was very tall, with a huge head of copper-coloured hair, turquoise eyes and great beaky features. She wore fantastical highly-coloured clothes and hats with great style.”
Lady O has now given her name to a cozy pub tucked away in the area’s pretty Georgian John Street. A short stroll from the secret gardens of Grays’ Inn Fields and the magnificent British Museum, the Bloomsbury area is also home to the less well visited Charles Dickens Museum in Doughty Street and the engaging Cartoon Museum on Little Russell Street.
Meeting a friend for dinner at The Lady Ottoline, I am struck how few pubs are actually named after women (Queen Vics and such apart) especially local characters like Lady Ottoline whose sex life was racy even if she was not a conventional beauty. Her list of lovers includes Bertrand Russell and art historian Roger Fry among others.
But the duo behind the pub, Scott Hansen and Maria Larsen, turn out to have a sister tavern called The Princess of Shoreditch, so they obviously have an eye for the ladies.
The Lady Ottoline, however, proves an ideal spot to pause on a tour of the local area especially for anyone wanting to get in the mood for the Women of Bloomsbury walking tour, organized by Friends of Bloomsbury Square who have several itineraries taking in the rich history of these streets.
Don’t miss Coram Fields with its petting zoo for young children, named after philanthropist Thomas Coram who founded the Foundling Hospital for unwanted children, now the Foundling Museum in Brunswick square. Nearby Fitzroy House in Fitzroy Street was the once the home of George Bernard Shaw.
Formerly a blokes’ boozer called the Kings’ Arms, The Lady Ottoline is now tastefully decorated with photographs of the Bloomsbury Set as well as the Lady herself. She looks down her beaky nose on diners in the elegant upstairs dining room decked out with candles and heavy furniture, but we chose to eat in the pub downstairs, where the evening breeze wafts through open doors across the wood paneled interior.
We dined daintily on lovely lady-like English fare: a darne of Megrim sole with caper butter and south coast skate with samphire, but we could have opted for the heartier Mendip Hills chop or 28 day aged onglet. The mains came with creamy mash and fresh spring greens. Although we ate British, we chose our wines with a Mediterranean flavour, favouring the barman’s recommended Pehhcora Pecorino, a slightly more unusual dry Italian than the ubiquitous Pinot Grigio. One of Lady O’s conquests, I learn, was Axel Munthe, who wrote the wonderful ‘Story of San Michele’ about his house on Capri, where the couple lived for a while
The winding staircase down to the Ladies’ room is adorned with black and white nudes from the 1920s, and my friend noted that The Lady Ottoline provides quality artisan hand wash which is still unusual in a London pub.
Fellow diners on the night we visited may not have been Bloomsbury intellectuals, but included a nice mix of local residents and workers, especially solicitors and media types. We are told that many regulars have their own wine cellars, and Mondays is a ‘no corkage’ day for those who want to bring their own bottle.
Lunch time specials include light bites such as devilled whitebait and a carpaccio of watermelon with feta cheese and pomegranate, which would leave room nicely for a trip to Bea’s Tea Rooms on Theobald’s Road before a spin round the lovely Bedford Square.
This was one of London’s first garden squares and Number 44 is where Lady Ottoline played hostess to The Bloomsbury Set during its heyday. The London square is a uniquely London phenomenon, not found in other parts of the world. Bloomsbury, Bedford, Russell and Brunswick squares were all created in the 1700s to provide a country atmosphere in the city and still provide an oasis of calm today for those discovering the capital and its well-connected drinking establishments
The Lady Ottoline
11a Northington Street
London WC1N 2JT
0207 831 0008
www.TheLadyOttoline.com
Walks around Bloomsbury
0207 388 8822
Ottoline Morrell: Life on a grand scale by Miranda Seymour. Published by Faber
Posted from London, England, United Kingdom.