Sitting at the highest point in London, our Heritage Team has begun the sympathetic restoration of the iconic landmark building Jack Straws Castle, NW3.
The building became a world-famous public house, frequented by a wide range of notable and eclectic figures. It was named after the rebel leader Jack Straw, who led the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381.
There has been a public house on the site since the mid-1700s, with a long list of distinguished patrons over the years, including Charles Dickens, Karl Marx, and Sir John Betjeman, among many others.
The building was damaged by a World War II bomb and later completely rebuilt around 1964, using a prefabricated structural box frame. This modern system of construction allowed the structure to be assembled on site in just three months.
Now a Grade II listed building, Jack Straws Castle was designed in the ‘Gothic Georgian’ style by classical architect Raymond Charles Erith RA FRIBA. Erith’s work was regularly exhibited at the Royal Academy, and his pupil Quinlan Terry later became his partner in the architectural practice Erith & Terry.
The sympathetic conservation works at Jack Straws Castle are carefully planned to preserve the building’s historic character and protect its architectural legacy for future generations
