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London, The Tottenham

THE TOTTENHAM, No. 6 Oxford Street. By Saville & Martin, 1892, for the Baker brothers, publicans and speculators, as part of a larger block of shops and offices. The architects designed several other pubs for the Bakers, usually in a similar mixture of fashionable small-scale details derived from Northern RenaissanceGlossary Term architecture. Many pubs were being rebuilt around this time, partly in response to restrictions on licensed premises: if new pubs could not be opened, then old ones could at least be rebuilt to attract new custom.

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London, The Tottenham

Specialist firms fitted out the interior, which has a colourful escapism similar in feel to the theatres and music halls of the day: a painted ceiling, painted mirrors (which also helped make the most of the lightGlossary Term), and a coloured tile friezeGlossary Term.

THE PILLARS OF HERCULES, No. 7 Greek Street. 1935 by J.S. Quilter & Son, who designed many London pubs in this style, mostly for Youngers' brewery. By the 1930s pubs often looked back to an Old EnglishGlossary Term style associated with traditional values and solid quality. It was no coincidence that the same half-timbered style was used for countless suburban houses, giving the pub a suggestion of a 'home from home' rather than an alcoholic escape into a different world.

• Find out more about historic pubs at the CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) Historic Pubs website.

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London, Pillars of Hercules