The Salisbury, Covent Garden

It was built as part of a six-storey block in about 1899 on the site of an earlier pub that had been known under several names, including the Coach and Horses and Ben Caunt's Head. As well as being Grade II listed by Historic England, the interior is on CAMRA's National Inventory as being "an historic pub interior of national importance", due to the quality and opulence of the etched and polished glass and the carved woodwork. The "SS" motif that can be seen etched into the glass and in a few places is because the pub was originally called the "Salisbury Stores". The use of the word "Stores" was not uncommon in pub names of that era. Other fittings include art nouveau bronze nymphs holding long-stemmed flowers with light bulbs in the middle of the flowers, which are said to be original. and the Cecil family coat of arms lies between two angels supporting a canopy above the door on the corner. Nearby Cecil Court is also named after the family. ==Notoriety==

The Salisbury was well known as a gay-friendly pub from Oscar Wilde's time up until the mid-1980s. In 1979, the British serial killer Dennis Nilsen attempted to murder Andrew Ho, a student from Hong Kong that he had met in The Salisbury. Although Ho went to the police and Nilsen was questioned, the student chose not to testify, so no charges were brought against Nilsen. Nilsen had already killed once, and went on to murder another fourteen young men. == Gallery ==

File:Salisbury, Covent Garden, WC2 (3654939463).jpg|Coat of arms between angels above corner doorway File:Window, The Salisbury - geograph.org.uk - 1706312.jpg|Etched window glass with "SS" motif File:The Salisbury - St Martins Lane, London - pub sign (6444144873).jpg|The pub sign showing Lord Salisbury ==References==