The Coal Hole is a stunning piece of ‘olde Englishe’ revival built in 1903-4. The age in which it was built is unusual. During the 1880′s and 90′s many pubs were undergoing huge and expensive remodellings but by the turn of the century the London pub market had crashed and very few pubs were being rebuilt. The Coal Hole and the Black Friar were two exceptions.

The Princess of Wales is located between Charing Cross and Embankment stations on the busy Villiers Street just south of the Strand. The pub is named after the ‘secret’ first wife of George IV and is owned by the Nicholson’s chain of pubs.