Broke and broken, so the tale goes, he threw himself from an upstairs window. The Crown became Crocker's Folly. Like most good yarns that's all it is. Frank was a successful entrepreneur and the Crown a lavish testament to that.
The public bar is vast, the billiard room grand, but the jewel-at-the-Crown is the entrance hall saloon. A late Victorian feast of marble, using fifty different kinds, covering not only the counter, but almost the entire bar.
The chimney-piece is marble and has marble columns. Even the walls are lined in marble. All this, beneath a rich plaster relief ceiling.
Crocker's has undergone refurbishment and restoration. The billiard room, with its own beautiful ceiling, continues to serve as the restaurant. The marble hall saloon, cleaned and carpeted, looks magnificent. Not so welcome, the public bar has been revamped with a pool table and sport on tv, along with the ubiquitous piped music.
Architecturally this is a superb pub and worth a detour. Perhaps it should be renamed Crocker's Crown, as it is far from a folly.
PRINCE ALBERT W9 WARRINGTON HOTEL W9
Sun 12.00-22.30
Credit Cards: All major
TEL 020 7286 6608
TUBE Warwick Avenue
Edgeware Road
12.00-14.30 & 18.00-21.30
Sun 12.00-20.30