Iconic London Pub Now Lets You Drink Beer Nude, For Some Reason

One of London’s most iconic drinking establishments, the Coach & Horses Pub in the heart of the city’s always-buzzing Soho district, was once known for having the rudest owner in the city, Norman Balon, who had worked at the pub since 1943 and became known for his catch phrase—dished out regularly to the crusty journalists who frequented the place—“You’re barred, you bastards!” In fact, when Balon published his memoir, the book’s title was, You’re Barred, You Bastards! But Balon’s cantankerous nature, far from driving away customers, became a major element of the pub’s appeal, attracting such regular luminaries as actor Peter O’Toole and artist Lucian Freud, among numerous others. The pub’s glory days were the freewheeling 1980s, but the location on the corner of Greek Street and Romilly Street in Soho has been home to a pub by one name or another for more than 300 years. The building that houses the Coach & Horses has been situated on that corner since about 1850. In other words, the pub is a place filled with history and tradition. But Balon sold the pub in 2006, and the current owner, Alastair Choat, has added a what he hopes will become a new tradition at the pub—nudity. Applying for and receiving a “special notice” from city authorities, Choat has now opened the pub to anyone and everyone—patrons or staff—who has the urge to doff their duds and quaff a pint. "There is this—in times of real need and despair and trying to defend something of value—great British tradition of stripping off," Choat told CNN in a recent interview.  The nudism license is not the first change that Choat has brought to the famous pub, also converting the watering hole into what Choat says is the first vegan pub in the British capital city, as he strives to revive what he calls "the bohemian atmosphere so beloved by writers, journalists, actors and artists." There is a catch, however. Nudity at the pub is not permitted to happen spontaneously. According to the Standard newspaper, “any nudity needs to be pre-arranged and consensual, and naked drinking sessions will only take place on select dates.” Photo By Tarquin Binary / Wikimedia Commons