“… the place he associated with escape and refuge.” – The Cuckoo’s Calling
The Tottenham – renamed The Flying Horse in 2015 – was built in the 19th century and is now the last pub on Oxford Street. No. 6 Oxford Street, to be exact. It has been featured in almost every Strike novel so far, except Troubled Blood.
It’s on the Campaign for Real Ale’s National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors — with good reason. Check out this interior!
(Look — you can see Tottenham Court Road Station outside the windows. And you can also see the “wooden display” from which “Strike tweaked a tourist leaflet” to copy down Wardle‘s number from Anstis in The Cuckoo’s Calling.)
We can see why this is Strike’s favourite pub and general hangout.
We first encounter the Tottenham in The Cuckoo’s Calling:
“The ornate Victorian face of the Tottenham pub rose up behind the rubble and roadworks, and Strike, pleasurably aware of the large amount of cash in his pocket, pushed his way through its doors, into a serene Victorian atmosphere of gleaming scrolled dark wood and brass fittings. Its frosted glass half-partitions, its aged leather banquettes, its bar mirrors covered in gilt, cherubs and horns of plenty spoke of a confident and ordered world that was in satisfying contrast to the ruined street. Strike ordered a pint of Doom Bar and took it to the back of the almost deserted pub, where he placed his glass on a high circular table, under the garish glass cupola in the ceiling.” (Part 1, Chapter 5)
Here’s that garish glass cupola in the ceiling….
Here’s the “large and blurry painting of a Victorian maiden, dancing with roses in her hands, directly opposite him. Frolicking coyly as she gazed at him through a shower of petals….”
The Silkworm also mentions the Tottenham’s art: “Strike bought a newspaper and went to the Tottenham, sitting himself beneath one of the voluptuous women painted by a Victorian set-designer, cavorting with flora in their flimsy draperies.”
And here, one of “the painted panels on the ceiling; bacchanalian revels that became, as [Strike] looked, a feast of fairies: Midsummer Night’s Dream, a man with a donkey’s head.”
More Tottenham artwork by decorative artist Felix De Jong (1863-1924).
In The Cuckoo’s Calling:
Strike goes here to escape Robin on her first day as a temp. He spends ten minutes in the Gents, then drinks Doom Bar before heading out to buy a camp bed. (Part 1, Chapter 5)
“Strike … headed straight into the Gents, which smelled strongly of piss.”
“Ten minutes later, and feeling considerably more comfortable, Strike was a third of the way into his pint….” Strike spent 10 minutes in there. He was doing more than pissing.
Strike goes here after finding out Charlotte Campbell is engaged to Jago Ross. Robin follows him there and saves his thoroughly drunk arse. She encourages him to go and get a kebab before he can start a fight with barman. (Part 4, Chapter 5)
Strike meets Johan Agyeman here at the end of the book (Epilogue).
In The Silkworm:
Strike chooses not to go to The Tottenham to avoid future press incursions after discovering Owen Quine‘s body (Chapter 22).
Later in the book, Strike goes here with a newspaper after a day of work (Chapter 41).
In Career of Evil:
Strike and Robin go to The Tottenham in the aftermath of the severed leg being delivered to their office. They sit downstairs (Chapter 4).
Robin goes here to get drunk after finding out Matthew had been unfaithful. Strike finds her and she opens up to him about her past (Chapter 20).
The downstairs of the pub includes extra seating and a second bar. The room is also available for private hire if anyone wants to host a Strike meet-up.
In Lethal White:
Strike has to avoid The Tottenham for months following the capture of the Shaklewell Ripper (Chapter 1).
Strike interviews Sam Barclay for a job early on in the book, after Strike sacks another subcontractor who crashed his car while on a surveillance job (Chapter 1).
The Red Lion pub reminds Strike of the Tottenham (Chapter 10).
Strike takes his notebook to The Tottenham for a drink. Robin calls him and he pockets his notebook, downs the remained of his pint, and takes the call out on the street. (Chapter 59).
In The Ink Black Heart:
After meeting Allen Yeoman, Richard Elgar and the Ledwells at the Arts Club, Strike and Robin go to the Tottenham for a pint and to discuss how to go about the investigation. Whilst they are there, Robin’s estate agent calls and, much to her delight, tells her that she has succeeded in getting the flat on Blackhorse Road. She hugs Strike. (Chapter 19)
Strike goes here for afternoon drinks. However, on deciding that it is too busy, he walks to The Angel, which do not allow mobile phones. He therefore ends up in The Cambridge, which is a pub also featured in The Silkworm (Chapter 68).
After a dramatic incident on Denmark Street, Strike, Robin and Pat sit downstairs in the Tottenham whilst the police ask Pat questions (Chapter 71).
In The Running Grave:
The pub has been renamed The Flying Horse, which Strike thoroughly approves of, being an Arsenal fan (Chapter 43).
The pub’s basement room is the location of an agency team meeting so that Littlejohn doesn’t walk in on them (Chapter 43).
Strike talks to Bijou Watkins in here. When he arrives, she is sat under the glass cupola (Chapter 70).
Pat confesses something to Strike in here (Chapter 70).
In The Hallmarked Man:
Strike goes here feeling depressed (Chapter 19)
Strike drops in here and calls Spanner to get instructions on how to install an anonymous browser onto a new laptop he’d just bought (Chapter 97)
When we were first in The Flying Horse in 2016, even though it’s now the Flying Horse, the receipt still read The Tottenham!
In 2016, J.K. Rowling said that the owner was changing the name back to its original name of The Flying Horse, which it was named before being called The Tottenham.
In the TV series:
The real Tottenham pub wasn’t used in filming the Strike TV series; instead, they filmed at a pub called the Duke of York, located in Fitzrovia.
Here’s the Google Maps location for The Flying Horse:
