Old times, gentlemen, please

This inviting glass sign lured us into the Museum Tavern in Bloomsbury, London - right opposite the British Museum. I’d heard it was a bit of a tourist trap so I had fairly low expectations, but inside it’s a relaxed Victorian pub, with a good mix of customers and some rare cockney accents.

The Tavern was expanded in 1855 and pleasing original features – such as this cut glass window, carved wooden fittings and pretty coloured glass – still survive.

It’s hard to believe now, but the area was full of swamps and ponds in the early 18^th century. The pub on the site was called the Dog and Duck, and the area was a hunting ground for the Duke of Montagu, whose house later housed the first British Museum.