The Punch Bowl, Mayfair
Encyclopedia
The Punch Bowl, at 41 Farm Street, Mayfair
, is a London
public house
, dating from circa 1750. It is listed as Grade II by English Heritage
. It is a Georgian
building and, although altered over the years, retains many period features including a dog-leg staircase, internal cornicing
and dado
panelling.
The pub featured in the documentary film I'm Going to Tell You a Secret
, which followed Madonna
in 2004 and showed her and her husband Guy Ritchie
on a night out at their "local". In March 2008 the pub was bought for a reputed £2.5 million by Ritchie and Madonna, with the involvement of nightclub entrepreneurs Piers Adam, Nick House, Guy Pelly and Tarquin Gorst, from Greg Foreman, father of actor Gregory Foreman. In August 2008 the pub was investigated for trading breaches, accused of selling alcohol at a higher price to tourists than to the local clientele. In Ritchie and Madonna's November 2008 divorce settlement, Ritchie gained ownership of Madonna's share of the pub.
The pub has become renowned for the number of celebrities who visit it. Complaints by local residents about noise and other disturbances led to a review of the pub's licence, with some restrictions imposed by Westminster City Council
in December 2009.
The winner of a 14 December 2009 eBay
auction, organised by the Evening Standard
newspaper for the charity Kids Company
, paid £2,214.12 to 'Have a pint
with Guy Ritchie at The Punch Bowl'.
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
, is a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, dating from circa 1750. It is listed as Grade II by English Heritage
English Heritage
English Heritage . is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport...
. It is a Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
building and, although altered over the years, retains many period features including a dog-leg staircase, internal cornicing
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
and dado
Dado (architecture)
In architectural terminology, the dado, borrowed from Italian meaning die or plinth, is the lower part of a wall, below the dado rail and above the skirting board....
panelling.
The pub featured in the documentary film I'm Going to Tell You a Secret
I'm Going to Tell You a Secret
I'm Going to Tell You a Secret is the title of an American documentary film that follows pop singer Madonna on her 2004 Re-Invention World Tour. It premiered on MTV on October 21, 2005 and was released commercially in a CD+DVD package on June 20, 2006 by Warner Bros. Records...
, which followed Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
in 2004 and showed her and her husband Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie
Guy Stuart Ritchie is an English screenwriter and film maker who directed Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Revolver, RocknRolla and Sherlock Holmes.-Early life:...
on a night out at their "local". In March 2008 the pub was bought for a reputed £2.5 million by Ritchie and Madonna, with the involvement of nightclub entrepreneurs Piers Adam, Nick House, Guy Pelly and Tarquin Gorst, from Greg Foreman, father of actor Gregory Foreman. In August 2008 the pub was investigated for trading breaches, accused of selling alcohol at a higher price to tourists than to the local clientele. In Ritchie and Madonna's November 2008 divorce settlement, Ritchie gained ownership of Madonna's share of the pub.
The pub has become renowned for the number of celebrities who visit it. Complaints by local residents about noise and other disturbances led to a review of the pub's licence, with some restrictions imposed by Westminster City Council
Westminster City Council
Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council and is entitled to be known as a city council, which is a rare distinction in the United Kingdom. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors...
in December 2009.
The winner of a 14 December 2009 eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
auction, organised by the Evening Standard
Evening Standard
The Evening Standard, now styled the London Evening Standard, is a free local daily newspaper, published Monday–Friday in tabloid format in London. It is the dominant regional evening paper for London and the surrounding area, with coverage of national and international news and City of London...
newspaper for the charity Kids Company
Kids Company
Kids Company is a charity organisation that works with young ex-offenders and disadvantaged children through inner-city schools in London, a drop-in centre in Camberwell, and the Urban Academy in Southwark...
, paid £2,214.12 to 'Have a pint
Pint glass
A pint glass is a drinking vessel made to hold either a British pint of 20 imperial fluid ounces or an American pint of...
with Guy Ritchie at The Punch Bowl'.
External links
- The Punch Bowl website
- Images of England page on the building's architecture and listing
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/samthesham/3475916832/The Punch Bowl on FlickrFlickrFlickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
] - Time Out review
- The Punch Bowl Planning and Listed Building Application: Design and Heritage Statement submitted to Westminster City Council