Waterloo station’s new pub is inspired by the Festival of Britain

Waterloo station is getting a new pub, named after one of the exhibition pavilions from the 1950s Festival of Britain.

The Wetherspoons pub will be in The Sidings, the newish shopping centre underneath the former Eurostar platforms, and will be called The Lion & the Unicorn, after the Festival of Britain pavilion of the same name.

The pavillion was a large modernist glass fronted building that stood just behind the Royal Festival Hall (where Whitehouse Garden is today) and was intended to show off “British character and tradition”, with the large open building atrium filled with exhibits, opening, obviously with a large heraldic lion and a unicorn, made by Fred Mizen.

Elsewhere, the pavilion told the story of the English language, with examples from Shakespeare and the Bible, while another (since lost) mural showed off the English countryside. Most of the rest of the building focused on British traditions, with exhibits on freedom ‘of worship’, ‘democracy’, and ‘under the law’.

Although mainly an exhibition space, the pavilion also included an outdoor restaurant.

Following the closure of the Festival, the building was nearly saved with a plan to move it to South Kensington, but it was ultimately demolished to save money.

While the pavilion has long since vanished, the name will return in the form of a Wetherspoons pub in Waterloo station.

The pub’s interior is said to be inspired by the original pavilion. Historical photos and details of local history, as well as artwork and images of local scenes and characters, will be displayed in the pub, some following collaborations with local artists and the Southbank Centre, with other connections to the key figures who once brought the 1951 festival to life.

The pub will open on Tuesday 3rd September 2024.

It will then be open from 6.30am until 12 midnight Monday to Thursday, from 6.30am until 1am on Friday and Saturday and from 7.30am until 12 midnight on Sunday.

You will be able to find it in The Sidings, which is slowly becoming less deserted than it was when it opened.