Black Friar pub, junction Queen Victoria St, Blackfriars, London, England UK EC4V 4E, with London red bus 23 to St Pauls

'Unique’ is a much overworked word when it comes to describing pubs. But that’s exactly what the Black Friar is. There’s nothing else anywhere remotely like its fabulous decorative scheme, either in style or content. On a sharply triangular site opposite Blackfriars station, the pub was built in 1871-2, but what makes it so special is a remodelling from about 1905 by the then publican, Alfred Pettitt, and his architect H. Fuller-Clark. Fuller-Clark trained at the Lambeth School of Art and began practice in 1893. His artist was Henry Poole R.A., and both men were committed to the Arts & Crafts Movement which embraced a love of high-quality materials, hand craftsmanship, and often a very free, original approach to design. Before entering the pub there is much to admire on the exterior. There is a deep mosaic fascia carrying the words "Saloon / 174 / The Black Friar / 174 / Brandies" on New Bridge Street side. A grand segmental arched entrance on the far left is surmounted by stone carved figures and above it a colourful mosaic of two monks fishing. The exterior lobby itself has walls and ceiling of marble. All along the exterior (well illuminated at night) are beautiful copper signs most featuring one or two friars such as a ‘Worthington Ales in Bottle’; two ‘Worthington Ales on Draught’ ones; ‘To the Saloon’, ‘Booths Gin’; and a couple of ‘Saloon Bar’ signs, one of which bears a couple of friars pointing you towards the saloon and helpfully tells you it is 9 yards away. Above the corner door (no longer in use) is a ‘174’ in mosaic; a large stone figure of a friar; and a clock with a mosaic face. Above the Queen Victoria Street entrance on the right is a mosaic of a friar with wine in carafes flanked by stone carvings of friars. The fascia on this side has ‘Brandies’ in mosaic. Throughout the pub are friars – or at least jolly, modern reinvented versions of them – they appear everywhere in sculptures, mosaics and metal reliefs.