The Salisbury, Covent Garden
{{Short description|Pub in Covent Garden, London}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2014}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2014}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = The Salisbury
| native_name =
| native_language =
| image = Salisbury, Covent Garden, WC2 (2913856903).jpg
| caption = The Salisbury
| type = Public house
| mapframe =
| coordinates = {{Coord|51|30|39.24|N|0|7|38.28|W}}
| location = 91-93, ST MARTIN'S LANE WC2
| built = c. 1899
| architect =
| architecture = Victorian, Art Nouveau
| owner =
| designation1 = Grade II
| designation1_offname = THE SALISBURY PUBLIC HOUSE AND 91-93, ST MARTIN'S LANE
| designation1_date = 05-Feb-1970
| designation1_number = 1236050
| designation2 =
| designation2_offname =
| designation2_date =
| designation2_number =
| designation3 =
| designation3_offname =
| designation3_date =
| designation3_number =
| designation4 =
| designation4_offname =
| designation4_date =
| designation4_number =
| designation5 =
| designation5_offname =
| designation5_date =
| designation5_number =
| designation6 =
| designation6_offname =
| designation6_date =
| designation6_number =
}}
The Salisbury is a Grade II listed public house at 91–93 St Martin's Lane, Covent Garden, London{{National Heritage List for England |num=1236050 |desc=The Salisbury public house|access-date=3 April 2015}} which is noted for its particularly fine late Victorian interior with Art Nouveau elements.
History
It was built as part of a six-storey block in about 1899 on the site of an earlier pub that had been known under several names, including the Coach and Horses and Ben Caunt's Head. As well as being Grade II listed by Historic England, the interior is on CAMRA's National Inventory as being "an historic pub interior of national importance", due to the quality and opulence of the etched and polished glass and the carved woodwork. The "SS" motif that can be seen etched into the glass and in a few places is because the pub was originally called the "Salisbury Stores". The use of the word "Stores" was not uncommon in pub names of that era.{{cite web|title=London WC2, Covent Garden, Salisbury|url=http://www.heritagepubs.org.uk/pubs/pubguide.asp|work=Britain's Real Heritage Pubs|publisher=CAMRA|access-date=21 March 2014}} Other fittings include art nouveau bronze nymphs holding long-stemmed flowers with light bulbs in the middle of the flowers, which are said to be original.
The pub is named after Lord Salisbury (1830–1903), who was the British Prime Minister three times between 1885 and 1902. The Cecil family still owns the building's freehold,{{cite book|last=Sharland|first=Elizabeth|title=Behind the doors of notorious covent garden : the true story of covent garden.|date=2009|publisher=Iuniverse Inc.|location=[S.l.]|isbn=978-1440185007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3djuAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA57|pages=57–58}} and the Cecil family coat of arms lies between two angels supporting a canopy above the door on the corner.{{cite book|last=Jephcote & Brandwood|first=Geoff & Jane|title=London heritage pubs : an inside story|date=2008|publisher=Campaign for Real Ale|location=St. Albans|isbn=9781852492472|pages=16–18}}{{cite web|title=The Salisbury|url=http://www.pubs.com/main_site/pub_details.php?pub_id=206|work=pubs.com|access-date=22 March 2014}} Nearby Cecil Court is also named after the family.
Notoriety
The Salisbury was well known as a gay-friendly pub from Oscar Wilde's time up until the mid-1980s. The 1961 British suspense film Victim, directed by Basil Dearden and starring Dirk Bogarde and Sylvia Syms, includes scenes inside and outside The Salisbury and was the first English language film to use the word "homosexual".{{cite web|title=London WC2, Covent Garden, Salisbury|url=http://www.heritagepubs.org.uk/pubs/national-inventory-entry.asp?pubid=44|work=Real Heritage Pubs|publisher=CAMRA|access-date=22 March 2014}}
In 1979, the British serial killer Dennis Nilsen attempted to murder Andrew Ho, a student from Hong Kong that he had met in The Salisbury. Although Ho went to the police and Nilsen was questioned, the student chose not to testify, so no charges were brought against Nilsen. Nilsen had already killed once, and went on to murder another fourteen young men.{{cite book|last=Marriott|first=Trevor|title=The evil within|date=2012|publisher=Blake|location=London|isbn=978-1857827989|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TqA4NcM_pm0C&pg=PT340}}
Gallery
File:Salisbury, Covent Garden, WC2 (3654939463).jpg|Coat of arms between angels above corner doorway
File:Window, The Salisbury - geograph.org.uk - 1706312.jpg|Etched window glass with "SS" motif
File:The Salisbury - St Martins Lane, London - pub sign (6444144873).jpg|The pub sign showing Lord Salisbury
References
{{commons category|The Salisbury, Covent Garden}}
{{Reflist}}
{{National Inventory Pubs}}
{{pubs in London}}
{{coord|51.5109|N|0.1273|W|source:wikidata|display=title}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salisbury, Covent Garden, The}}
Category:1899 establishments in England
Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1899
Category:National Inventory Pubs
Category:19th-century architecture in the United Kingdom