If ever you fancy a drink down by the River Thames as it flows through London there are hundreds of pubs to choose from. One of these is the City Barge (known by locals as simply 'the Barge') at Strand-on-the-Green in Chiswick, a short walk downstream from Kew Bridge on the north bank of the river. A drinking establishment of one kind or another¹ (though not always of the same name) has stood on the site for centuries and has, over the years, witnessed the surrounding area change from a quaint village to a rather posh and exclusive riverside enclave where former fishermens' cottages can fetch more than £1m each. And as if that isn't enough, the pub has also featured in a film starring a rather well-known popular beat combo from the 1960s.

The Building

Built as The Navigator Arms in 1484, The City Barge was renamed in the 19th Century when the State Barge of the Lord Mayor of the City of London had its winter moorings on the River Thames outside the inn. The steel door to the Old Bar is needed when the Thames runs high and the front of the pub is cut off, whilst in summer patrons can enjoy the pleasures of the tow path.
- A plaque on the outside wall facing the river.

Observing the pub today you'd be forgiven for thinking that this building doesn't look 500 years old. In fact, the pub was destroyed during a World War Two bombing raid and most of it was subsequently rebuilt in a 1950s style with plain brickwork.

A Pub of Three Halves

Inside, the pub has two drinking areas - the 'old bar' and the 'top bar'. The old bar, as the name suggests, retains the feeling of a quaint old inn, with a low, exposed-beam ceiling, plaster-and-beam walls, a couple of fireplaces, wooden settles, a red tile floor and more brass knick-knacks than you can shake a stick at. This is where most of the pub's regulars congregate to drink, chat and pore over The Times crossword.

The top bar has a much more modern feel with a polished wood floor, comfortable seating, and decor based on a boating theme. This section of the Thames is home to several rowing clubs, and singles, pairs, fours and eights can be seen sculling their way up and down the river from the front of the Barge on most evenings, from where, incidentally, you can also see some spectacular sunsets over Kew Bridge. The top bar is, therefore, often favoured by strapping young lads just off the river after a practice row. Curiously, considering that young men of this type are often partial to downing a few pints and telling stories and singing songs that you wouldn't want your granny to hear, this is the family bar - children are allowed in the top bar subject to certain licensing restrictions.

There are tables outside the pub on the pathway², and on particularly balmy summer evenings it's not uncommon to find more patrons outside than inside as drinkers spread themselves along the pathway and sit on the riverbank, dangling their legs over the edge.

Old Father Thames

The reason for (and greatest threat to) the City Barge.

The small riverside settlement which is today called Strand-on-the-Green had already been in existence for at least a hundred years before the Navigators Arms was built and was, at the time, simply called 'Strande' after the narrow strip of gravel which lined the riverbank along that stretch of the Thames. Its inhabitants made their living (not surprisingly) from fishing and other water-related occupations such as ferries and boat-building, and for a time there were six inns³ along this half-mile or so of the bank.

Despite being almost 40 miles (64km) inland, the Thames is still tidal at Strand-on-the-Green⁴ and will rise and fall by around 7m (23 feet). At certain times of the month, when the Moon is either new or full, the tide will be high enough to cover the riverside walk outside the front door of the Barge to the extent that it would flood the old bar were it not for a steel door, similar to bulkhead doors found on ships and submarines, which is closed and tightened shut by means of several nuts and bolts and a large ratchet spanner. A rubber gasket around the edge of the door provides a seal against the encroaching river.

Around the times of the spring and autumn equinoxes when the tides are exceptionally high, the river can completely cover the tables outside on the footpath, barely inches below the pub's windows.

Sometimes the seal doesn't seat properly and staff can be seen frantically mopping the tiles because by the time the door starts leaking, it's too late to undo the bolts and reclose the door - doing so would inundate the entire bar. It's at times such as this that you begin to understand the meaning of the phrase 'force of nature'.

Consequently the City Barge has no cellar since it would - twice a day - be below the level of the river and prone to flooding, and as most serious beer drinkers know, a cellar is essential to any good pub because that's where the beer is kept, and kept at just the right temperature⁵. Instead of a cellar, the Barge's kegs and barrels are kept in an air-conditioned shed alongside the car park. This means that the beer lines from the 'cellar' to the bar are exceptionally long. It's wise therefore to wait a while after the pub opens before ordering a pint in case the bartender has forgotten to draw off the beer that's been sitting in the line since closing time the previous night.

In the middle of the Thames, slightly upstream from the Barge is the heavily wooded Oliver's Island. It gets its name from a story that Oliver Cromwell used it as a hiding place during the English Civil War and that there was a tunnel from the Bell and Crown to the island. This is almost certainly a myth since it was known as Strand Ayt until well after the Civil War and no evidence of any tunnel has ever been found. Locals will tell you that it was the site of the last boatbuilders yard on the Thames within the boundaries of London. Today Oliver's Island is owned by the Port of London Authority, is leased to the London Natural History Society and is a haven for several species of bird including herons and cormorants.

The Pub's Main Attractions

Aside from the already mentioned picturesque riverside setting, the City Barge is a pretty good place for beer lovers. Despite having the appearance of a free house⁶, it is actually tied to one the UK's largest breweries and those in the know will be able to work out which one from the (considerable) range of real ales and keg beers on tap.

The Barge also serves food, the quality of which can vary according to the current manager.

Jazz Today, Gone Tomorrow

For about four years, from 2001 until 2005, the Barge was a music venue on Thursdays. The popular jazz evenings, organised by saxophonist Eric Gilchrist were well attended until complaints from the neighbours resulted in the local council serving an abatement notice on the managers of the pub. Both managers and musicians are keen to reinstate the music.

Star Spotting

Much of west London is decidedly up-market, and with the BBC's Television Centre located on the western side of the metropolis many of the corporation's onscreen personalities have homes in nearby locations so it's not unusual to see a famous face at the City Barge. Ant and Dec have used the Barge as their local, and the pub has been a haunt of other BBC celebs including Philippa Forrester and Juliet Morris. Former Champions actor William Gaunt has dropped in, as has TV chef Ainsley Harriott.

The Liverpool Connection

Fans of The Beatles will remember a scene from their film Help where the Fab Four find themselves taking a stroll by the river. After being chased by a marching band of bagpipers in full regalia playing 'Scotland the Brave' (an incongruous sight on the banks of the River Thames) they duck into a pub and decide to have 'two lagers and lime and two lagers and lime'. Ringo's pint seems to be stuck to the bar, and when George tips it forward a trapdoor opens and Ringo drops into a cellar where he finds himself being stalked by a tiger. The three other Beatles see one of the baddies (Leo McKern) behind the bar and exit the pub by jumping through the windows onto the footpath, but then rush back in with the police to rescue Ringo and everyone ends up singing Beethoven's Ode to Joy. This scene was shot in the old bar of the City Barge and on the footpath outside the pub.

Wait a minute... let's go back a few paragraphs: 'Consequently the City Barge has no cellar'. Quite obviously the cellar in the film is a bit of artistic licence⁷ and the interior shots may well have been filmed in a studio recreation of the bar. Subtle differences between the decor of the bar in the film and the actual interior of the old bar strongly suggest this.

Nevertheless, the pub often features in tours of 'The Beatles' London'. Buses will sometimes pull into the car park and disgorge 50 or so (often) Japanese tourists who will spend about 15 minutes absorbing the atmosphere, taking photographs and/or filming the pub and the bar staff. Afterwards it's not uncommon to find several half-pints of Guinness scattered about the pub, each one having had just one sip taken from it. Irish stout, apparently, does not suit the Eastern palate.

A Word of Caution

The staff employed at pubs like the City Barge must be one of the few groups of people in the land who pray for rain at the weekend, for on a hot sunny day such pubs are a magnet for what often seems like half the population of the city. On Saturday and Sunday afternoon, and on a warm Friday evening too, the punters can easily be six deep at the bar and the wait to be served can creep towards 30 minutes. There's little that the bar staff or management can do about this because the space behind the bars isn't big enough for more than two bartenders in the old bar and three upstairs in the top bar. This pub was never meant to deal with the huge number of people who try to use it on fine days, so have a thought for the poor bartender who's going to be working their entire eight-hour shift without a break.