History

History of the White Horse & Bower

Originally built around 1816, the White Horse & Bower public house on Horseferry Road served as a watering-hole for horses and was simply called ‘The White Horse’ until 1832.

This Pimlico pub was rebuilt in 1894 by the New Westminster brewery, whose premises could be found a short walk away on the same road.

The ‘White Horse’ of the pub’s name might be a heraldic reference to the royal House of Hanover as this animal appears on their coat of arms. The Hanover dynasty ruled over Great Britain from the time of King George I in 1714 through to the passing of Queen Victoria in 1901.

Interestingly (though likely unrelated to the original naming of the White Horse & Bower) the coat of arms of Kent, the home of Faversham-based Shepherd Neame, also features a white horse, Invicta, which was briefly adopted into the logo for the Faversham brewery around the late 19th Century when the company was known as ‘Shepherd & Mares’.

The word ‘bower’ refers to a pleasant area shaded by trees or climbing plants and might reference the green spaces that can still be found a short walk away from the White Horse & Bower pub such as Vincent Square, St John’s Garden, Victoria Tower Gardens, and St James’s Park.