The Lord Nelson, tucked away off Wood Street, High Barnet, is the 2022 Runner Up Pub of the Year in the annual contest organised by the Enfield and Barnet Campaign for Real Ale.
Priding itself on being a traditional one bar public house, the Lord Nelson is so popular with regular customers that they are hoping to get it registered with Barnet Council an asset of community value.
Landlady Julie Clarke (above), who took over the pub in 2015, is delighted with the Campaign for Real Ale’s award.
She thinks the bid to get The Lord Nelson registered as an asset of value is recognition of the importance which residents place on maintaining a local pub within their community.
“We are a traditional family pub which appeals to regular customers who want to come for a pint. We don’t have football on the tv – just darts and pool.”
The location of The Lord Nelson, a short distance along West End Lane – now a cul-de-sac immediately off Bells Hill – plays to its strengths of being well clear of the High Street or a main road like Wood Street.
Being tucked away must have been part of its appeal to the film stars Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, by far and away The Lord Nelson’s most celebrated former customers.
A framed testimonial with their signatures – now faded and hard to decipher – hangs on the wall beside the bar.
A notice says Burton and Taylor visited The Lord Nelson in the 1960s when on location at Elstree Studios while filming Cleopatra.
The couple were back at Elstree Studios for the filming of The VIPs and there were reports in the 1960s of them visiting other former hostelries – The Old Thatched Barn by the A1 and The King’s Arms at Stirling Corner.
Julie Clarke said that being a little off the beaten track – and being a real “local” – was part of The Lord Nelson’s attraction.
In recent years the clientele has included football players and celebrities from clubs such as Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
Having worked in other pubs in the vicinity, including The Arkley, she was an ideal candidate when working at The Lord Nelson and when the previous landlady moved away.
“Deidre put my name forward to Young’s Brewery and that was it; I became the new landlady.”
Earlier this year the pub was acquired by Punch Taverns and the change in ownership seems to have been one of the factors in the attempt to register it as an asset of community value.
If Barnet Council approves the application for ACV status it would give added protection and it would be harder for the building to be sold off to a developer as the local community must first be given the chance to see if it can raise the sale price.
An earlier application for ACV status was rejected but there is more optimism this time.
“Because we are a real traditional family pub, we really are valued by our regulars and the last thing they want is for another local to be sold off for new housing.”
Two former pubs close to the Lord Nelson – The Alexandra in Wood Street and The Albion in Union Street – have both been converted into houses in recent years.
Another attraction of The Lord Nelson is its much-admired collection of salt and pepper pots, which is now well over 300, most having been donated by customers returning from holiday.
The Lord Nelson’s success in winning the Runner Up award is dwarfed by that of the Little Green Dragon in Green Lanes, Winchmore Hill, which has been declared Pub of the Year by Enfield and Barnet CAMRA for each of the last five years.
